Peacemaking (Nebulous Finale Pt 2)
by Nebula the Starwing
Summary: After meeting with the Starwings, the gang races to make diplomatic meetings between Queens a possibility. The Starwings are starting to settle in, and the news of their arrival spreads rather fast. As they begin to settle, The Starwings try to piece together a mystery surrounding Pyrrhia's magical properties as well as a mysterious message emanating from the Claws of the Clouds.
1. Chapter 1 - Future Plans

[oh my gOD THIS TOOK WAY TOO LONG I APOLOGIZE, LIFE STUFF HAPPENED AND YEah. Enjoy!]

(Chapter 1 - Future Plans)

_**-Prologue-**_

_Fire. An inferno of color swept through the ship._

Flames of different colors licked up the sides of the ship's scarred walls, different chemicals being consumed by the tongues of fire already making their way towards the sources. Alarms and sirens blared through the half empty ship, the hull would breach soon whether the crew evacuated or not.

Through the flaming wall of heat, a black figure strode through, clad with sleek black modular body armor, an intimidating black cloak and similar helmet completed her menacing look. A few guards rushing around recognized her as the terrifying figure of the lost Princess Libra. They drew their pikes and charged her, easily being swept aside by her energy imbued strikes.

She pressed on through the damaged ship's halls, occasionally knocking a guard or other attacker aside with her wings. A few unconscious Starwing bodies littered the hallways, leaving more behind her. As she pressed on, she entered a hall crossing and stopped momentarily. Within seconds, each hall had three or so armed soldiers surrounding her. 12 in all, they drew a weapon and attempted to keep her trapped.

Libra forced her wings out and up. With them, her energy lifted the soldiers up suddenly to the ceiling. Another swift _SLAM_ of her wings down to the floor brought them crashing against the cracked ship's hall. One final slam with her fist against the floor sent them flying back through the halls, all but knocked out.

The armored princess stalked through the halls to the data center, barely in one piece. Accessing the terminals with ease, she pulled together any and all data pertaining to their whereabouts. So far, very little. They _had_ traced a few of their energy signatures to deeper parts of the galaxy, which would've lead them right to Stardust. Libra would make sure this wouldn't happen.

_**Iso, I've tapped into their data banks. They had our trail, despite our caution.**_

Libra's comm crackled to life within her helmet.

"Aye, they must be tracking our stellar remnants."

_**Indeed. I'm resetting their core, warp to Cygnus 5J, I'll meet you there.**_

"Yes my Queen."

Her comm silenced, leaving her with the boundless amount of thoughts that plagued her mind usually.

_My Queen._ What Libra always wanted… Now that she declared her splinter faction sovereign, she had claimed herself the only true heir of the FreeClan. No one in the small armada she split off with years ago dared question her.

A pallid rage tore through Libra's mind as she tore down the hall towards an airlock. The nearest one lay straight ahead. As she turned towards it, the doors were literally melted shut. Flames lapped through the cracks, not the best method of exit. This forced her to turn around completely, facing the nearby observation deck.

The deck consisted of a large glass dome covering nearly all the ceiling and walls, save for the back wall and the door. The glass was nonexistent at this point, only a forcefield keeping everything contained. Fire and smoke permeated the atmosphere, causing the room to be dimmed with ambient light from the corners.

Just as Libra prepared to shoot out into the stars, a voice stopped her.

"_You haven't even said goodbye yet._"

She need not turn around to know who it was.

_**You never said hello, **__**Mother.**_

Aries, standing a few meters back and donning similar body armor without the helmet, gripped a Light Pike with a tremblingly intense stance.

"Don't you grow tired of running, little one?"

_**A Queen must never tire out. You told me that, remember?**_

"So that's what you think you've become to them? A _Queen?_" Aries stepped forwards, both in indignation and in seething anger. "What _Queen_ attacks her own subjects?"

_**What kind of Queen would let them **__**die**__**? Neither of us are perfect, we've both made some unfavorable choices.**_

"So it seems…" Aries let down her pike, offering her hand instead. Her gaze pleading and firm, Aries stepped forwards cautiously. "But we can fix this… you and me-"

Libra whirled around and launched a furious wave of energy at her. Aries counterbalanced with a wave of her own and summoned the pike to her again.

_**THERE IS NO FIXING THIS ANYMORE. **_

Libra grabbed a hilt from her side mount. With the smallest of astral interfacing, the hilt sprang out into a lithe mechanical blade, both edges igniting with furious white energy.

_**NO ONE CAN, NOT YOU, OR ME, OR ANYONE ELSE. **_

Aries whirled the pike around, igniting it as well.

"I'm sorry you think that way… I don't want to do this again."

Libra readied herself into an attack position.

_**Then just **__**LEAVE.**_

"YOU KNOW I CAN'T DO THAT EITHER!" Aries shouted towards Libra, readying herself.

"_...I will never turn my back on my own daughter."_

_**GrrrrRRRAAAAAAAH!**_

In an anger driven flurry of power, Libra dove at Aries blade first. The two met with their energy imbued weapons, exchanging blows and counters in perfect synchrony. Libra slashed low, Aries jumped up and swung high. Libra blocked high, slashing up as Aries used the pike to block again. The two predicted the other's moves like clockwork.

At first they were at a standstill, matched equally towards each other. But little by little, Aries faltered in her movements. Each block nearly shattered the pike, each counter was just a little too slow. Libra struck harder and harder, yelling out furiously. Finally with a stolid slash to the side, the pike snapped in two and deactivated. The fragments fell to the side, as Aries stumbled back with her head to the wall. Libra was in mid swing, aimed at her mother's head as time slowed.

The glowing edge was mere feet away, and traveling fast. Yet every nanosecond crawled by. Libra's keen awareness of time awarded her one precious moment to notice her mother's expression. Not terrified, not battle ready, not even angry.

Just… _grieved. _No amount of armor could ever shield Libra from such a blow. Her arm slowed mid swing, just enough for Libra to adjust her trajectory in guilt. Aries however caught on, preemptively grabbing Libra's arm to knock the blade out of her grasp. Within the next few milliseconds, Aries then launched a hard wave of her astral energy to one off guard Libra, who flew back into the middle of the deck.

Aries lunged at her daughter, Libra barely able to block her strike with the armored arm guards she wore. Aries' strikes nicked at her armor, taking off a few segments of Libra's tail armor. Next, her slashes caught onto her exposed tail and left a severe gash along its length. Libra fell back with a cry of agony, with one last blow from her mother that shattered a part of her helmet. She lay on the ground, as Aries pointed the blade at her; panting and still ready to fight, but desperate in tone and expression.

"Where… _where is Nebula_?"

Libra's exposed helmet let Aries see the lone multicolored eye of her daughter, watery and squinted with malice.

_**Out of your talons.**_

Aries nearly struck her daughter again with how close she threatened her.

"WHERE _IS HE?!"_

_**SAFE.**__** He will be safe, as I promised.**_

Aries, realizing Libra's words, stepped back.

"...You don't have him… you dropped him off…"

_**He's safe… out of our reach.**_ Libra looked up at Aries, determining her movements. The Queenly dragon slumped down however, onto the ground her head in her talons.

"My son… Libra… why…?"

Libra prodded forwards, curiously and cautiously. It was uncharacteristic of her to just give up like that, igniting Libra's instincts.

'What is she doing…?'

The fire and smoke around the rose higher, surreally so. Libra couldn't breathe in without smoke igniting her lungs.

'What's happening?'

"Libra…"

The voice was no longer her mothers, but coming from all around.

_Libra._

The smoke dimmed her vision, and as she fell back the realization hit her almost as hard as the floor.

'Dream… This is a dream…'

_**Libra.**_

**-X-**

"Libra… wake up."

Libra's eyes finally cracked open, the room still spinning some from her dream world. The room was small, barren save for another similar dragon standing besides her.

_Mother._

She attempted to sit up quickly, finally remembering where she was. Not in danger, no mission to complete, only reconciliation to seek. Libra let her tense breath go and shook herself off a bit.

"Hey…"

Aries sat besides her daughter and wrapped the princess in a tender hug.

"You were fighting something in your sleep. Any longer and you would have punched a hole through the ship."

Libra's gaze found the fist sized indentations in the walls, gashes of energy strikes up and down the cell interior. She grimaced at thinking what she might have said in her sleep.

"Sorry… Just having trouble sleeping lately."

Aries nodded and nosed her daughter's head affectionately. "Bad dreams?"

Libra, resignedly and seeking solace, nosed back and into her mother's arms.

"Worse... _remembering._"

"Ah…" Aries pressed her head against Libra's softly. "That's behind us, all of it."

The two exchanged their energies in a mental embrace, sharp flashes of her nightmare flashing through Libra's mind. She winced as Aries mind soothed her troubled memories, then pulled back and rubbed her head again.

"Yeah… But it's not behind _me_ yet."

"Give it time." Aries offered her a hopefully kind smile. "Time heals all."

_Time heals all._ Libra initially had her doubts, but the more she thought about it, the more it didn't seem so impossible. Maybe it was just her eagerness for redemption, maybe she was deluding herself of what could be and what could never. She didn't know which was which anymore.

"...Mother…" Libra's worried gaze met Aries. "What's going to happen to me?"

Aries sat besides her daughter comfortingly. "First, we have to let everyone else know you're alive. Until then I think it's safer for you to-"

"MOTHER." Libra turned to Aries and held her shoulders. "If they know I've turned myself in, the Council would order me to be executed. That much I know for sure." Her tensed mind forced her gaze to shift wildly around.

"I don't know how you expect this to go… And with how me and father have been the past two years, would you honestly expect him to stop them, or even let _you_ stop them?"

"Libra," Aries keeps Libra's head in place firmly. "You know I am a _Queen_ yes?"

"Yes but... even you can't keep me alive forever if everyone else wants me gone, or dead…" Libra again averted her eyes again, wanting anything else but to look at her mother." I won't… I can't make you do that for me."

Outside the shield, a pair of mismatched ice blue eyes peered in. Sheratan stood at the force field somewhat sleepily.

"Princess, the majority of people actually want you back. They don't agree with your actions, but at least 65% of the Starwing Populace would like to see you within the Clan once more."

Libra's head swiveled around to see her, curious and hopeful. "...They do?"

Aries brought her head back again. "Then how much more so would your _own father_ want you back."

"But-" Libra reasoned back. "I've attacked our own dragons… I've _killed_ some of my own citizens."

"Actually-" Another dragon prodded up besides Sheratan. Caelum sat besides her. "In all 17 attacks on our ships and territory, you haven't _killed_ anyone. Injured, oh yeah. Lots of that, but… You've taken no lives. You've only crippled ships and forced others off."

"You were…" Sheratan piped up again. "Rather merciful, it seemed."

Libra, somewhat teary eyed, glanced back to her mother who hugged her tightly again.

"My daughter… There is _hope._ You will come back, I promise."

As her mother spoke it took all Libra had to not cry again, or find another reason they could be wrong. She resignedly nodded and nosed into her mother.

"Okay… I trust you, just tell me what I need to do."

Aries nosed her daughter's cheek. "Just hang on, things will look up soon. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

Libra wiped her eyes and sniffed her sadness away. "Just visit me sometimes… And maybe a status update on what's going on every so often?" The princess looked to Caelum who smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Princess."

Libra offered a smile in return, holding onto her mother. "I'll be here then." She cleared her throat some and shyly spoke up once more.

"When… When can I see Stardust…?"

Aries shifting expression didn't exactly convey hopefulness. "Soon… Let's let everyone know you're alive and well, and _here_, firstly. After that, then we'll see."

Libra nodded and glanced downwards. "Okay… In the meantime, what're you going to do?"

Aries, ever the excitable and ambitious Queen, clasped her talons together.

"Today… _I will unite two worlds together in peace." _

**-X-**

"Stardust… Rise and shine little one."

Stardust flopped over to his other side, avoiding the prodding at his stomach from a larger dragon he refused to open his eyes to see.

"Mmfh… I dun wanna go to class…"

A soft and deep chuckle rumbled from the other dragon, as they nosed Stardust's head again.

"Well today's class is called Life, and I'm afraid we're all forced to attend." The larger dragon curled up around Stardust and nudged his forehead again.

"It's sunrise on your planet, we must start our day as well."

'_My planet… What…?'_

The Prince's eyes suddenly shot open. Yesterday's events flooded back to him, and with it the giddy realization that it_ wasn't_ all a dream. Glancing up, he met Orion's proud and affectionate snout, with his intense yet wonderous multicolored eyes gazing back.

"Good morning, little Prince."

Stardust curled up into him and yawned. "Morning dad… I mean, my king?" He looked up at him admiringly.

"Which is more… Appropriate?"

Orion's grin deepened as he touched foreheads with his newfound son, sharing the bond of energy like usual. Stardust became so cozy, if he had stayed there much longer he'd have fallen asleep again.

"Both are appropriate, but…" Orion pulled away, only to plant an affectionate little kiss on Stardust's forehead.

"Call me _dad_, I have too many dragons already calling me King, and "My lord" and "My liege", and so on and so forth."

Stardust smiled in his dad's chill-like response. He sat up and leaned on him happily. "What does _mom_ call you?"

"If she's happy with me," Orion laid back and held Stardust on his chest. "Orion, Darling, sometimes 'My Starcastle'. That's why we named this ship after it, because I'm her Starcastle, her refuge and shelter."

Stardust's smile would have reached the roof had it not been contained to his snout. Before he had a chance to reply, Orion continued.

"If she's NOT happy with me, I'm convinced she has this whole list of nicknames that she keeps somewhere and updates every so often. It's amazing really."

Through Stardust's giggling and soon uproarious laughter, Orion keeps counting off the names.

"Half Minded Binary, Absolute Dwarf Head, scatterbrained galaxy of a dragon, and she _loves_ calling me a _Pinhead Nebula_, for reasons I cannot fathom."

Once Stardust regained composure he gathered himself off the floor and again laid atop his father.

"What did you do to get called a Pinhead Nebula?"

Orion smiled again and laid his head back. "Nothing actually. We were running a routine inspection of a star gone supernova, determining if it would cause reactions among the other stars that were nearby."

Stardust watched his father's gestures and listened intently.

"It turns out, the star had collapsed in on itself. Just big enough to stay a star and not turn into a black hole, but small enough to explode nonetheless. And as it exploded, it only released in _one_ direction, which is _exceedingly_ rare and an astonishing sight to behold."

Orion glanced out to the stars, along with Stardust.

"For your mother, I'd guess it looked like me. It had all my colors, it was shaped as a dragon might be, save for the head, which was the star itself. The helmsman asked what the designation for the nebula should be, and before I could say anything, she said:"

Orion spoke in a mock version of Aries: "_Pinhead Nebula! Because it looks like Orion!"_

Stardust fell off of Orion once again, this time rolling on the floor with laughter. Orion could barely continue without laughing himself.

"You should have seen the faces of the crew, they were mortified!"

Orion rolled with Stardust as they both cuddled together and eventually settled looking out the window.

"Mmm…" For Stardust, things couldn't have been better. This was everything he'd been looking for, more than he could've asked for. He only wished it could stay this way forever.

"Hey, dad?"

Orion nosed his cheek. "Mm?"

"Can _I_ have a nickname?"

Orion paused, glancing down to Stardust thoughtfully. "Soon, little one. I need to get to know you better for that, it's barely been a few hours I've known you after all."

Stardust smiled to himself and cuddles closer. "Feels longer than that…"

"Yeah… It does." Orion planted one more kiss on Stardust's head, then stretched out with a yawn, unceremoniously and quite loudly, then forcefully snuggled back into Stardust.

"Mmmrh… C'mere you, snuggles."

Orion's snout prodded around Stardust's belly and chest tenderly, eliciting Stardust's surprised yelps and giggles.

"H-hey, wait a second I'm t-ticklish there!" He immediately covered his snout with his paws after revealing his weakness. Orion smirked to himself and pinned his son down gingerly.

"_Is that so?" _He bore down on Stardust with his snout and talons, doing his all to tickle the writhing and squirming Prince, the two laughing and rolling around the padded floor.

"EEP! AAAHAHAHA, NOSTOP! NOT THERE!"

The two continued without a care in the world, Orion enjoying time with his son at last. Stardust could barely breathe from laughing and rolling around, having the time of his life. With all this going on, Orion nearly didn't hear the tone beeping from the wall panel nearby.

He thwacked his tail against the pad in a controlled manner, sitting up some to listen through the laughing and panting. Tau's voice came through.

"My liege, could you report to the bridge at the earliest opportunity, there's something I think you should see."

Orion cleared his throat, still giggly and jovial with it being obvious from his voice.

"Aye, me and Stardust will be there in a minute!"

Stardust got up and leaned on Orion, somewhat loopy from all the wrestling. Orion held him and nosed his head with a grinning chuckle.

"I didn't… Interrupt anything did I?" Tau sounded just a bit curious, but it was obvious just as big a smile was plastered across her snout.

"Don't worry about it," Orion shook himself off and attempted to don his serious posture and manner again, practiced and authoritative. "We'll be there shortly."

"Aye sir. Take your time."

As the comm switched off, Stardust marvelled at his kingly father, who in turn marvelled at his son with the shining pride of a thousand suns. All royal posture and dignity flew out the window and Orion embraced his son again.

"Heavens above, I'm so glad to see you safe and sound…" His heavy sigh of relief and joy nearly swept Stardust away with it, Orion's energy seeping out with energized happiness. Stardust could only let his do the same as he nosed his dad's snout.

"I love you dad… I'm so glad to see you too."

Orion smiled down at Stardust. "I love you too, my son."

After hugging it out again, Orion took a nearby cape and attached it around his neck, regal appearance back in his stride. He gestured to Stardust.

"Now then, shall we see what Tau needs us for?"

**-X-**

"Where _are_ they?"

Tsunami looked around with impatient eagerness. A total of 6 dragons were gathered around the stone table: Tsunami and Sunny, Clay and Peril, along with Glory and Deathbringer.

"Moon said she was taking care of Peacemaker, and Queen Aries said she'd meet us here when the sun comes up." Sunny glanced over to the energized Seawing. "They'll be here soon."

"But I don't want to WAIT! This is exciting and new, and it's exactly what I've been waiting for!" Tsunami bounded across the room to Clay and Glory.

"Remember when we saved all of Pyrrhia? Stopped a war? Brought peace to the tribes?"

Clay nodded in agreement while rubbing his and Peril's egg, albeit unsure. "That was… Fun?"

Glory turned to Tsunami. "As exciting as that was, lots of innocent dragons died, Tsunami."

"Well, yeah but it-" Tsunami bounced in place. "IT WAS EXCITING! It gave me a sense of purpose and made me feel like I was MEANT to do something, and don't get me wrong I like being a principal and all…"

The Seawing Princess gazed longingly out the window.

"But I wanna be out _there_! I wanna go explore seas, and fight bad guys, and DEFEAT EVIL AND UNITE TRIBES! I WANNA BRING QUEEN SCARLET BACK FROM THE DEAD AND _KICK HER IN HER MELTY FACE AGAIN_, DANG IT."

"Tsunami," Peril piped up over the enthusiastic Tsunami. "No one wants to kick Scarlet's melty face more than I do. Believe me. But…"

She motioned around to everyone else.

"Some of us just want to settle. Leave the adventure to the others, make a home for others to come back to. I just want to preserve what I have… I guess I have too much to lose now."

Clay wrapped his tail around hers tenderly. Peril in turn smiled and nudged his snout.

"Well of course _you_ would," Tsunami, in a teasing yet sisterly tone, replied. "You're the one who has the hunky Mudwing for a mate."

"_Tsunami!_" Glory admonished her somewhat sternly, while Clay just turned around.

"You think I'm hunky?"

"Clay," Sunny giggled in her words. "I'm pretty sure every dragon in Jade Mountain thinks you're hunky."

Deathbringer shrugged and leaned against the table.

"_**I **_think you're hunky."

The moment he noticed Glory's displeased and confused expression, he put his paws up defensively.

"Well he is!"

The group erupted in laughter, Clay's face bright red as the sparkling egg he cradled.

"Good to know everyone thinks I'm handsome, makes me feel better about myself."

Peril nosed his snout again. "You're the most handsome dragon I've seen, and I've seen quite a bit of them.~"

Clay nosed back lovingly, Tsunami languishing by the window and smiling.

"_Moons_ you two, get a room!"

"Tsunami," Sunny spoke up again. "We're _in_ _their_ room."

After another round of laughter, Moonwatcher and Anemone finally arrived to see the gang rolling in laughter.

Moon looked to the group curiously. "Did we miss something?"

The small flock of friends promptly quieted up, even though Moon could obviously tell they were keeping quiet on purpose. Without purposefully prodding in, Moon could hear a few snippets of what everyone was thinking.

'Those two are so cute together… Maybe _I_ should find a mate… Ew, no Sunny, snap out of it!'

'I should just JUMP out this window right now, dang it. I don't wanna talk anymore! There's no TIME to talk about things, we should just go!'

'Ah, these idiots whom I call family. I miss them so much. Maybe I should get out of the rainforest more often.'

'Oh moons he _IS_ hunky… wonder if he swings both ways… Oh what am I saying? Stop looking at his handsome mug! Stop it! So what if his muscular chest is nice to look at… So what if he has a cute-' Moonwatcher blocked Deathbringer's mind quickly after that.

'He really didn't know he was hot? Clay, my mudbrain who I love and adore, you can be so dense sometimes. I wouldn't have you any other way.~'

'I really am handsome? Wow... I wonder if I can use that to my advantage… No, that's dishonest! But what if our kid is a boy, and _he's_ handsome too? I'd have to teach him not to be dishonest, that sounds hard… And I haven't even had breakfast yet...'

"Moon?" Anemone snapped her out of her listening. "You alright?"

"Yes! Yes, sorry." The two stepped to the table, Moon clearing her head of the… fascinating thoughts she heard in her friends' heads.

"Ahem… So has uh, the queen mentioned when she'd be here?"

The group's heads collectively shook no.

"She said she'd meet us here this morning," Sunny pointed out helpfully. "We don't know where she is."

"So then," Anemone prodded up to the table and planted herself at the table. "We just wait."

"rrrRRAAARGH" Tsunami flopped back and grumbled. "Stupid waiting…"

Anemone's stifled giggling prompted Tsunami to lift her head, staring down her sister.

"You know how impatient I am!"

The smaller Seawing Princess smirked back. Having spent a good amount of time together, they felt comfortable riffing with each other and egging one another on. It seemed to run in the family, apparently.

"I think all of Jade Mountain knows by now.~"

Tsunami leaned against the table, between Clay and Glory.

"And does all of Jade Mountain know you have a crush on your Clawmate?"

"So what if I do?! It's not like I'm obsessed with her."

"Is that so, Miss 'Leader of the Tamarin Fan Club' Anemone?"

"At least I can talk to her! How far away is Riptide again?"

Tsunami slammed her talons to the stone table, pouncing into her sister.

"_YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!_"

Anemone and Tsunami rolled about the room, wrestling and tussling around while pelting each other with insults and names. The two continued to bicker back and forth all the while, their fighting more in good nature than anything else.

Meanwhile the rest of the group sat around, mostly ignoring this as a common occurrence. Sunny and Moon watched in ever so slightly worried fascination. Glory propped her head on her talons, Clay and Peril shrugging it all off in each other's wings.

And Deathbringer, unsurprisingly, was still ogling Clay.

All this until a pair of rather colorful dragons stepped into the room, Queen Aries and Hamal. Aries, upon seeing the two fighting Seawings, looked concernedly to Hamal, who returned the gesture. Tsunami and Anemone stood wrestling with each other, then turning to see the Starwings in the entrance.

"Have we, um…" Aries glanced around the room. "Disturbed something?

The Seawing Princesses resumed their seat at the table, attempting to resume their dignified stance.

"No, nothing at all!" Tsunami's excitement bled through her voice. "Now we can begin, yes?"

"Certainly! But I would like to introduce another of my esteemed Guards." Aries motioned to Hamal. "This is Hamal, head of my Elite Troupe."

Hamal kneeled to the group. "I am honored to meet you all."

The group politely waved back, Sunny with the faintest of blushy smiles.

"Queen Aries," Peril spoke after the introduction. "Is Stardust with you?"

Aries' expression contorted into concern. "He isn't here?"

She inspected the room worriedly. "He knows we were supposed to meet here this morning…"

Peril and Clay immediately glanced to each other, then towards the Queen. "You think he's ok?"

Hamal nudged her shoulder with his wing. "My liege, it's his first time aboard a Starship. An unexpected delay would be… Well, expected. If anything serious had happened, we would be notified."

Hamal's words immediately seemed to calm Aries a substantial amount. She nodded in agreement.

"True, thank you. I suppose I'm just a bit giddy and excitable recently!"

Tsunami bounced in place ever so slightly. "I know the feeling, your majesty."

Aries and Hamal sat in place between Moonwatcher and Clay, laying out a few pieces of fascinating tech.

"Well…" Aries sighed to herself. "Since Stardust isn't here yet… Perhaps we better wait for him. I don't want to start without him, he should be an integral part of all this."

Tsunami nearly burst out in objection, only stopped by Peril and Glory both shooting her a stern glance. She strained herself and sat back down.

"Yes. Good idea. _Wait_ for Stardust. Let's… Wait..."

Leaning on the table with her talons in the stone, she planted her forehead firmly into the table with a solid **THUNK**.

Hamal leaned over to Anemone and whispered:

"_Is she okay?_"

Anemone just shrugged in response.

**-X-**

Stardust _still _couldn't get over the marvel of these automatic sliding doors, inspecting them up and down each time he passed through one. The duo arrived on the bridge despite the detours through more fascinating doors, Tau quite chipper and smiley.

"Morning your highnesses!"

Stardust waved happily. "Hi again!"

Orion stepped forwards, glancing at the screens some. "You are acquainted already?"

"We met when he was wandering by his lonesome." Tau looked Stardust up and down again, before anxious and hesitant, now proud and uplifted.

"A pleasure to see you again, my prince."

Tau honored Stardust by bowing some, which Stardust returned. Orion smiled to himself and pat Stardust's side with his wing.

"Normally, royalty doesn't bow in return. But in your case I will encourage it."

Stardust beamed proudly and huddled besides his father. Orion looked to Tau again.

"You mentioned there was something we should be made aware of?"

"Ah! Right, that." Tau pressed a single button on a panel, two different dragons coming out of a separate door and taking up two stations in different places.

"We've encountered another odd signal on the planet. This is… Definitely not terrestrial, nowhere on that planet should there be the capability to produce something like this."

The two other crew members brought up a map of a particular peak along the Claw of the Clouds mountains, data flashing across from it's one peak. This drew Orion's attention keenly, leaving Stardust rather confused. The overall mood of the bridge darkened into mysterious curiosity.

"Wait, that's coming directly from the peak? Have we done Deep Geoscans?"

Tau shook her head. "No good. They bounced back."

"They… _bounced back?_" Orion's incredulous tone of voice brought a tension in the room. "We have at least 15 different emission types and none of them penetrated the material?"

"Sir," The dragon at the data console to the far right spoke up. "Of what we've scanned of the material, we can't even figure out what it is." The helmsman brought up a very complex atomic model, displayed on the large screen.

Orion padded up a bit towards the screen curiously, Stardust following with absolutely no idea what's going on.

"It's been quite a while since I've studied physical models, but… Shouldn't this be impossible?"

"This atomic configuration breaks at least 4 physical laws." Tau rubbed her chin in curiosity. "We can't really make heads or tails of it."

Orion rubbed his maw and face with a frustrated curiousness. "Oh good. Another mystery."

"That's not all." Tau then brought back the emission source to the screen. "This data stream doesn't register on any known languages, however it's symbolic usage is similar to ours within a 68% margin."

Tau drew the information to the data pad Orion held, as a copy of the data flashed across the screen. Orion scrolled through the massive content, equally confused.

"There's so much… Any repeat in transmission yet?"

"No sir," Another Ensign answered across the bridge. "All data transmitted has been continuous, it doesn't look like we have the whole thing yet."

Scrolling through a bit more, Orion noticed how much data had been transmitted so far.

"Stars above…"

Tau stepped up once more. "At this rate of continuous transmission, we'll reach maximum computer capacity within 7 hours."

Orion put the tablet down. Expression stern and serious, his attention glued itself to the main viewer.

"Relay data stream to Home Ship, set up continual cyclic encoding." He pushed a few buttons on the nearest dragon's console. "Have we anyone on deciphering any of it yet?"

Stardust nosed up to Orion in bewilderment.

"Dad, listen if you need to-"

And suddenly, all ears and eyes moved to the screen. The data streamed ceased, having transmitted the last of the code onto the ship's main computer.

"...Belay that order, Tau. How much space has our mystery code taken up?"

Tau's eyes flicked to another screen. "87 percent. Our operating systems only occupy 6%, the other 396 _thousand_ Petabytes are being taken up entirely by this-"

"Sir," One of the science officers spoke up. "At the tail end of the code, there's this line. It's using entirely different characters, formatting, everything."

The officer flicked up the information globule onto the screen. A simple three lines:

**START **

**RUN **

** KEYCHK_{HAZDCMJTGEYTI}**

Tau and Orion glanced to each other first, then to the other two.

"That's a rather basic command for such a massive file…" Tau scrolled through the nearby console pad. "Strange that none of this code is organized like it or even in the same symbolic set."

"General," The other officer piped up. "The signal has cut off, but a different one is now transmitting… a rather simple message."

Another panel presented itself on the main screen besides the other with the simple command. The new screen displayed a single five letter word:

**START**

As the crew and royal members all glanced to the others, evident expressions of understanding upon each one, they all looked back up to the screen once more.

"Well," Orion sighed and plopped himself in the middle console spot. "What're we waiting for? Let's see what this is all about."

"My liege," Tau interrupted and stood besides Stardust and Orion.

"I must advise caution here. We've just downloaded a massive piece of alien code onto our systems without inspecting or decoding it at all, we haven't the slightest idea what this could do and neither does anyone down there…" If Orion didn't know any better, he and Stardust would've thought Tau was a tad nervous. "We could be setting up our own demise."

Orion nodded in contemplation, then glanced to the other two officers.

"What do you two think?"

The left officer simply shrugged. "Why not?"

"Why _not_?" The right looked at him incredulously. "You've studied manipulative coding! You know what a _single line_ can do, much less alien monoliths of code we don't even understand!"

"Yes but," The left retorted passionately. "What's the point of going through all this if we don't find out! They intentionally gave us the code, key, and are now _asking_ us to activate it! Why would they go through that if not to build a bridge!"

"Which is exactly what makes it suspect!" The right officer turned to Tau and Orion. "I recommend studying the code intently, running simulations in secure virtual environments before we do anything."

"And I say we don't have time for that, sifting through Petabytes of data will take months! We should just be cautious, and take the plunge while they're still giving us the opportunity."

"BUT-"

Orion held his hand up, and the two stopped finally.

"Well… two against two. Hmmm…"

With an idea flashing across his snout, he glanced back to Stardust.

"Stardust… what do you think?"

Stardust didn't respond, slightly mortified having no idea what to say or do.

"...Uuhhh… I uhm..."

He seemed to sink into the floor he sat on.

"I… I barely even know what's going on…"

Orion, taking pity on him, sat beside him and nudged his shoulder with his wing.

"Here's what we know. We have an alien piece of code that we don't understand, and a signal asking us to activate it with a starting command. It might tamper with our operating systems, _but_ it might give us incredible insight! What do you think, should we give it a go?"

Stardust squinted at his father. "I know all that, but I'm still unsure about what any of that means."

Orion sighs and closes his eyes for a second.

"Okay… how about this. An alien being is… extending their hand to us. We understand that they're asking us to grasp their hand, but we don't know what it will do. It could hurt us, it could bring us closer, we have no idea."

Stardust, seeing the situation with a new light glanced to the flashing letters "**START**".

Orion spoke one last time before letting him think.

"Do we accept?"

The young Prince's mind fluttered, now feeling the mounting pressure on him.

'_C'mon Stardust, your first big decision. You have to think fast here…_'

What would the chances be? What would the smart choice be? What would make him seem like a good leader, a future king to believe in? Did it matter?

'_Just… think about it…_'

Stardust tried to put himself in the alien's position. If he'd set this up, what would his purpose be for it?

'_Why give us something if they wanted to harm us? There's no one down there like us who could've done this, so whoever did this is long gone. We could learn amazing things if we accepted…'_

Stardust exhaled deeply, and glanced to everyone again.

"W-well… if I would've done this… I would have nothing but good intentions. I don't think anyone would go to this length if they wanted to harm us, whoever they were."

Stardust could see the faces on his crew members slowly shift, agreeing with his logic.

"I think we should try," Stardust continued with a renewed vigor. "Whatever happens will happen. But have to find out, don't we?"

The young Prince glanced up to Orion, his father's smile gleaming as the stars with pride. He turned around to Tau.

"Tau, you have your Prince's orders. Let's see what this is all about."

The smaller commanding dragon nodded. "Aye sir."

She flicked up a simple command, the three lines from the end of the massive code, and sent it on a transmission signal to the base of the request.

A faint echoing tone rang out as the command was received, and for a long period of anxious waiting, there was but silence.

The start signal ceased, and for a short while nothing happened.

"Well…" Orion finally broke the silence. "That was rather anticlimactic."

As if on cue, a warning tone emerged from the console nearest to Tau.

"The signal is back, except…" As she scrolled through her console, her snout contorted with vehement confusion, impressed and slightly terrified.

"My liege, it's interfacing with the code. The code _itself_ is starting to integrate with our system software."

More tonal warnings and visual alarms manifested, soon petering out again. Tau and the officer monitored the screens closely to watch the transformation with astonishment.

"Sir," The dragon on the left console commented. "The code is creating a sort of interface, between the surface data stream and our operating system design… I don't even know how that's possible but it just installed 17 different protocols within the last few seconds."

"18," The right interjected momentarily. "and counting. It's working at speeds I can't even keep track of, sir."

"It's probing our systems!" Tau spoke back up again.

Orion immediately stood beside her, monitoring everything she was. Stardust could only sit there helplessly as the pit in his stomach grew deeper.

"Are we transmitting anything?" Orion soon had his own screen open, monitoring ship functions. "Has it attempted to tamper with ship controls?"

"No, not yet, but I recommend we don't find out."

Tau's hand hovered over the control pad, specifically the system override section. Orion preemptively placed his hand besides hers.

"Until it shows hostile intent, we do no such thing. A bit of transformation might be necessary for it to work with us."

Tau visibly disliked her superiors command. "But sir-"

"Bridge functions are being accessed by the data stream sir," The dragon on the right console spoke up, a tinge of anxiety lining his voice. "I can't activate any security protocols."

"It seems to be overriding all our system's interactions with the code… Code isn't even the right word, it's now an operating system of its own." The right dragon turned to Orion and Tau again. "Recommend full system shut down."

"No!" The left dragon turned back as well. "My liege we can repair the ship and it's systems, we can't repair whatever this program is trying to do."

"Well, what IS it trying to do?! So far it's tried taking our ship over!"

As if on cue, the bridge panels and lights flickered in power, various humming and alarms glitching out.

"My liege, I INSIST we stop this before it's too late!" Tau marched up to Orion, as did the other two dragons.

"Just give it a minute more sir!"

"We need to stop this now!"

The four became lost in a circle of arguments, leaving Stardust to watch in a haze of confusion and worry.

As the ship's lights and panels flickered and glitched out, he noted one panel stayed static with an otherworldly glow to it. Upon closer inspection, the panel presented a dark screen with simple green lettering displaying a list:

**ACCEPTED: START COMMAND**

**ACCEPTED: 13 UNIT KEY**

**ACCEPTED: INTERFACE PACKAGE DELIVERY**

**WORKING: INTERFACE OS COMPATIBILITY **

**REQUIRE: LIFEFORM SIGNATURE ANALYSIS**

Stardust didn't have a clue what any of the first four meant, but the last one intrigued him.

'Lifeform Signature Analysis required? It needs to... analyze a lifeform?'

Looking back at the arguing four, he hesitantly put his hand to the screen instinctively. It flashed for a second as Stardust felt a minor jolt through his body.

He jumped back some, then noticed the screen changed.

**ACCEPTED: START COMMAND**

**ACCEPTED: 13 UNIT KEY**

**ACCEPTED: INTERFACE PACKAGE DELIVERY**

**ACCEPTED: INTERFACE OS COMPATIBILITY **

**ACCEPTED: LIFEFORM SIGNATURE ANALYSIS**

**COMMENCE DATABANK INTERFACE?**

_**Y/N**_

The y/n letters flashed, waiting for an answer. Stardust prodded back up curiously, seeing as the panel was waiting for an answer.

'Well… Why not?'

The young Prince pressed the Y button, then the screen went black.

In fact, the entire bridge went dark. The arguing dragons went silent again, looking around in surprise.

"Stardust?" Orion's attention immediately snapped back to his son worriedly. Stardust shrank back some, then pounced back to his father.

"The screen said something and I- uh… I just- It was…"

Orion listened intently, waiting for Stardust to finish. He just shrugged.

"You guys seemed kinda busy, and it was asking for something, so… I improvised."

Before Orion had the chance to ask what that meant, the bridge power thrummed back to life. Screens returned to normal, diagnostic panels lit up as usual. Tau moved back to her panel, scrolling through the new information.

"All systems nominal, bridge functions are back to normal."

Orion moved to the screen where Stardust was at, opening up a panel to see the command history. He then looked back at Stardust with an intrigued yet impressed smile.

"You're full of surprises aren't you?"

Stardust smiled bashfully. "I try.~"

"My liege," As the two dragon officers took their places again, the right one turned back around. "The program is now completely erased from our banks, but it modified our operating system with an intricate interface capability."

The left dragon, teeming with awe, turned to the right.

"So… It was like an installer, of sorts! A universal compatibility patch!"

"Dude… That's insane."

"Ahem," Tau spoke up over them. "Status report."

The two dragons went back to their screens as Tau spoke in technical lingo with them that Stardust didn't understand. As Orion and Tau were too busy with ship functions, Stardust was the only to point out the main screen having changed.

"Um… Guys?"

He pointed to the new screen, a simple black screen with a line of text:

**| DATABANK INTERFACE INITIALIZED|**

**| AWAITING INPUT |**

**:_**

The other four glanced to Stardust, then following his pointing to the screen. The two dragons up front promptly scrambled through their screens at their stations.

"I have no method of interaction… No keyboard or symbolic chart."

"Neither do I. General, my King, anything over there?"

Tau and Orion quickly checked the screens lining the consoles behind them, as well as all around.

"Nothing," Tau prodded up behind the right dragon at the console. "Oddly…"

Orion stood behind the dragon to the left.

"I don't imagine they would give us an interface but leave out a method of using it." He stood between the two helm-dragons.

"You two, you seem to have a more advanced knowledge of coding and software… Your names?"

The two dragons stood at attention, bowing just a tad. The left revealed his back scales to flow a ghostly blue/violet/purple spectrum, the right contrasting with red, orange, and hints of pink.

"My name is Xenon." The left spoke up, prompting the right to follow suit.

"Neon, sir. We're brothers."

"Xenon and Neon, fitting." Orion gestured to the screen. "Well, you two's new assignment is figuring out a method of communication with this… Interface. And find out anything you can about what sent it, any information at all will help."

The brothers Xenon and Neon saluted.

"Yes sir!"

"Aye, my liege."

With that, the two paced out the door to the right, leaving Orion, Tau and Stardust.

"Tau," Orion turned to her next. "Place a 17 series monitor on this mystery signal, notify me if there's _any_ changes whatsoever."

Tau bowed respectfully. "Yes, my King."

As she raced off to the other comm stations, Orion whirled around to Stardust, waiting and eager to help.

"Stardust!"

He perked up with shining eyes. "Yes?"

Orion wrapped his arms and wings around the dragonet lovingly. "You did well. It's a lot to get used to, I know…" He looks down and tilts his son's head up to meet his.

"But considering what just happened, whatever DID just happen… You did extraordinary."

Stardust nosed up to his father's chest. "Thank you! You did good too, I think? I mean it seemed like you did, I don't know for sure?"

Tau perked her head up again. "I think you did marvelously, my King."

Orion shot her a gaze that conveyed quite a few messages. 'Thank you', 'Hush', and 'This is the best day of my life' were just a few. Turning back to his son, Orion let out a happy chortle and nosed Stardust's head.

"Thank you, Little One. Now," He turned himself and Stardust to the door. "Your mother is expecting you."

He checked his wrist comm and winced. "Actually she's been expecting you for half an hour longer than planned. I'd get moving if I were you, she doesn't like waiting.~"

Stardust's smile seemed confused on what to do; perk up? Drop entirely? Stay the same? He was saddened to be leaving his father he very much enjoyed being with, but at the same time the stress of being a Prince with such a weighty position started sinking in.

The thought of seeing his mother again made his heart aflutter as well, nervous and ecstatic. Stardust drew in a breath that leveled into a sigh, looking to his father for comfort.

"Okay, I'll go back down. Um… Where do I go…?"

Tau poked her head above Orion's shoulder.

"I can have an escort take him to the surface if-"

"No," Orion cut her off. "I want him to find it himself."

"M-m…" Stardust stuttered and shifted in his place, the very concept startling him. "M… Myself?"

"Yes, on your own." Orion drew a nearby data pad, input a dizzying combination of interactions and button presses at once, until an androgynous synthesized voice spoke from the pad.

"_Royal Access Profile Creation has been Initialized._"

He turned the pad around and offered it to Stardust. The screen now had a glowing outline of a paw print, the voice now saying:

"_Please place paw to the outline, and hold until complete._"

Stardust, hesitant but willing to cooperate mostly out of curiosity, followed instructions and placed his paw to the outline. Once he did, the entire screen emanated a very familiar otherworldly glow, a single line scanning up and down beneath his paw. After another few seconds, the screen returned to normal and the print disappeared. A box then appeared at the top of the pad, listing off four names at once that flashed by too fast for anyone to read.

"_Direct ancestry calculated, Genetic Evidence of Royal Lineage confirmed._"

Another few lines passed by, before a file of Stardust's new profile took up the screen. Lines of genetic traits and complex code littered the spaces, a few empty spaces highlighted yellow.

"_Please face the screen in a uniform fashion._"

These particular instructions threw Stardust off.

"Wait what? Why?"

And before he could get an answer, the screen flashed for a moment. A seriously unflattering picture of one squinting, ill-posed Stardust with his snout way too close to the screen placed itself in the top left corner. Stardust didn't even have time to react before it became permanent.

"EXCUSE ME, _WHAT?_"

Orion, doing his best to contain his chuckling, pushed on to the next segment.

"We'll fix that later, don't worry."

Even still, Stardust had about a dozen different questions, but at this point he hadn't the time to ask them all. The pad again spoke:

"_Genetic Sample calculates Astral Energy capabilities are present. Active levels unspecified. Genetic Sample calculates subject as Male. Royal Position determined to be: Prince. Is this correct?_"

Orion spoke up, placing his thumb digit to the screen.

"Correct."

"_Royal Confirmation accepted._"

The screen displayed a loading symbol, the same dragon symbol as on the side of the ship, except a background of galaxies and space-like entities flowing past. Finally it faded out, the screen reading "Success" as a pleasant tri-tone hummed through the pad.

"_Royal Profile successfully initialized, access parameters will take effect immediately._"

The screen changed once more back to the file, highlighting the name.

"_Input name, Title name first followed by Personal._"

"Title name…?" Stardust looked to his father again, side by side. Orion put a paw to his chest.

"The most important Starwing Royalty have two names, one that is given at birth, and one that is chosen by them. I chose Orion, a constellation spanned across an entire galaxy that I was born in. My Title Name was Galaxy. Thusly," Orion posed in a regal manner.

"King Orion Galaxy."

"_Name taken, please use a valid Title Name and Personal Name._"

Stardust let out a soft giggle, then cleared his throat.

"Title Name, Nebula. Personal Name, Stardust."

The pad filled in the name in it's space.

"_Nebula, Stardust. Rank, Prince. Access privilege, Major Royalty. Would you like to continue profile construction?_"

There was a certain satisfaction for Stardust in hearing those words, reaffirming him about his role and making his heart pump just a little faster. Before he could respond, Orion put his thumb to the screen and spoke firmly.

"No, save file and activate access protocols, full authorization."

The pad beeped again, shutting off right after. Orion took the pad back and gestured to a nearby wall panel. Stardust recognized it as one similar to yesterday, when the Ascella twins interacted with it.

"This is a NavPanel. Simply touch it, wait for it to respond, and then either input your command or use voice commands. Since we just input your profile, you can now interact with it."

Orion pressed a single digit to the pad, eliciting a soft tone and a single stripe of light across the width of it.

"There's a screen built in, if you ever want to try out navigating the commands, but they all respond to voice commands. Try asking a question."

Stardust prodded up to the screen and exhaled sharply.

"Okay… Where is the nearest ship exit?"

Another smooth double tone rang out, the white line turning yellow.

"_Specification required: Bridge Exit, Hall Exit, Shuttle Bay, Airlock, Docking Bay._

Stardust thought to himself for a second, then spoke up again: "Airlock."

The screen then brought up a diagram of the immediate area from a top down view, placing a red flowing path to a nearby airlock.

"_Directions illustrated. Proceed with live mapping?_"

Before Stardust could respond, Orion interrupted again.

"Hang on, you wanted to fly down there on your own, yes?

Stardust, unsure of the other alternatives, nodded along.

Orion, with a smile, presses his finger to the wall panel just below the main screen, revealing a sliding hatch with a space behind it surrounded by four, glowing white panels.

"In that case, I would like to gift you with something special."

He input a few different commands into the main screen, then prompting the glowing panels inside to respond with a more intense light. Each of the panels four corners shimmered and drew in energy, then erupted with an intense laser aimed at the center of the bottom black panel. All 16 beams in total tracked on the same path, and the immediate space it left behind seemed to have created a black sheen out of nowhere, almost as if the energy had brought matter into existence.

Stardust had his eyes glued on the whole process with endless fascination as in just a few seconds, an intricate arm plate of black, carbonized material had simply been lasered into existence; complete with fascinating ornamentation across its length, and the Royal Insignia dead center in the middle of it all.

Orion picked it up, a faint sizzling accompanying his holding it, and puffed a firm breath across its surface.

"Never should a Prince should be unadorned, especially in the vastness of space."

He brought Stardust's arm up, placed the arm plate onto his son's forearm (fitting nearly exactly to be comfortable and protective), then letting a flow of his energy into the interface. A wash of colors flowed through the engravings, activating the mesmerising tech inside.

A soft whir of energy pulsed through the armor plate, slowly generating a miniature sort of scale-tight forcefield around Stardust. The new screen around Stardust's body gave his form a shimmering intensity, the flow of his multicolored scales refracting all down his body. For Stardust, it almost felt like being bathed in sunlight.

"Well?" Orion inspected his son up and down. "How's it feel?"

Stardust could only look all up and down himself in total awe, speechless and stunned.

"This forcefield around you helps absorb more energy to use in space travel, reflect cosmic radiation, protect from overheating, and it can even stop most physical attacks."

He guides Stardust's paw to the symbol on the arm guard. "In order to use it, all you need to do is think. Your astral energy can interface with it."

Stardust presses a finger to the insignia, gathering mental energy to think of the arm plate turning off. Almost instantly, the arm plate deactivated and the forcefield fades out. Stardust looks up at his father with a few tears welling up, then embraces him with everything he had.

"I love it! It's amazing and _you're_ amazing, and I don't know what to say!" He hops around and nearly tackles his father in a tight and tender hug.

Orion squeezes his son tight and lets out a contented sigh, nosing his head. Nothing in a long time had been as rewarding as these small moments, nothing had brought so much joy to his heart for years.

"Anything for you little one. I love you with the intensity of the all the stars in the galaxy."

Stardust sniffs and wipes his eyes.

"Wow… *Sniff* That's a lot of love!"

Orion's maw would've frozen in place had he smiled much longer.

"Well I love you even more, little one. Now go, your mother is waiting!"

Stardust nods eagerly, looking at the directions still being displayed.

"Yes dad! I'll see you soon! Love youuuuuuuuuuu-"

Stardust held the last word as he sprinted down the hall out of sight.

And as Orion stood there, his head swooned with a faint dizziness. It all still felt like a dream, one he'd never wish to wake from.

"My King?"

Tau approached from behind, standing besides him and snapping him out of his contemplative stance. She offered a warm and sincere smile.

"He's going to fit in amazingly. I just know it."

Orion puffed up a bit with pride and admiration.

"He will bring about change in our clan, his very presence will bring about peace! Tau, this is just the beginning, magnificent things are coming."

He and Tau turned to the view screen of the planet below.

"We must do everything in our power to keep him safe, and let him thrive." Orion then turned to Tau with a thoughtful grin.

"He does seem to like you… Might you include him and teach him a few things when he's around?"

Tau nodded and bowed just a bit, obviously overjoyed at the recommendation.

"I'd be honored, my king.~"

"He'll need help, seeing as he's coming into a brand new world with new ideas and technology." Orion padded towards the main screen, marvelling at the planet below with optimistic happiness.

"Then again… he'll teach us a few things as well, won't he?"

Tau placed herself besides Orion.

"He's already shown me a new point of view… perhaps naïve, but optimistic." She turned to the king and nudged his shoulder some.

"Something I think we sorely need."

Orion nodded with an appreciative glance.

"Something _I've_ needed too. But whatever may happen, it's going to irreparably change both our cultures."

And with a hearty swing around, Orion turned to the door.

"_And I get the feeling it's going to be more amazing than we can even hope._"

**-X-**

Stardust hurriedly scampered into Clay and Peril's room, seeing the dragons gathered around the table.

"Hey!"

Upon his startling entry, everyone nearly jumped for joy, Tsunami and Aries literally jumping towards him.

"_**STARDUST!**_"

Aries was first to embrace her son, squeezing him tenderly.

"Good morning little one! What happened, you slept in I'm assuming?"

"Well yes, but..." Stardust rubbed the back of his head. "There was an… interesting event that dad will tell you about soon."

Aries brow arched in response.

"Interesting event, you say? Considering what's been happening since yesterday that's nothing new. I'll get the details from Orion, but more importantly," She put a paw on Stardust's cheek.

"You're okay…?"

He nodded happily and nuzzled into her paw in return. "I'm okay, promise."

The Queen's smile lit up the whole room, causing everyone else's emotions to get all sappy. Aries let go finally, leaving Stardust to be hugged by the others in the room as he then was bombarded by question after question by the group.

"Guys, guys! We can talk about that later, don't we have work to do?" Stardust motioned to Aries and the table again.

"YES I AGREE" Tsunami planted herself at the table. "Let's get started!"

"I agree," Aries and Hamal unpacked a few more pieces of equipment from their packs, littering the table with devices. The group oohed and aahed with wonder. "We have quite a bit of work ahead of us, but we need to start with diplomatic relations first. Without good relations between heads of state, we can't do much."

As she speaks, her glance lands on Glory. She pads over and bows to her in regality and grace.

"Therefore… Queen Glory of The Rainwing Tribe-"

Deathbringer cleared his throat some. "AHEMand the nightwingsAHEM"

"AND the Nightwing Tribe… I, Queen of the Starwings, offer our allegiance and assistance to your world, and to your tribe as the first we have contacted. I ask your permission to let our cultures unite, bringing the best of our worlds together."

Glory, completely unprepared for any of this, flushes a shade of yellow and pink, then to green and finally resting back on her usual pallette. She cleared her throat and responded in as dignified a manner as she could.

"Well, Queen Aries of the Starwings, your offer sounds to be a beneficial cause for us both and I would very graciously accept."

Before the room had a chance to burst into cheer, Glory expounded on her thought.

"HOWEVER, before I do, I must see the opinion of my tribes and how they stand on this. It is my firm belief they will agree, but I must let them know first."

Stardust poked up to her gently. "But Glory, you already know this is good for everyone, why would you wait?"

"As much as _I_ like it, I'm still a Queen." Glory rubbed his head.

"I must take my subjects wishes into consideration. I mean no disrespect or malice."

Aries rubs up to Stardust. "Remember Stardust, being royalty doesn't mean you make big decisions and be done with it, you work in the interest of your people."

She then nods graciously to Glory. "Thank you, Queen Glory."

Glory's proud and satisfied expression lightens up the cave room with her bright orange hue. Aries then picks up a holographic pad that displays the continent on the table.

"Alright, so that's two tribes. That leaves four more, the Seawings, Skywings, Mudwings, and Sandwings."

"And the Icewings." Another voice echoes from the cave entrance. One Starflight saunters inside, following the Queen's voice.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but I thought I might lend my brain. Politics between tribes is something I enjoy."

Aries, unsure of how to respond, introduced herself.

"Lovely to meet you, I am Queen Aries of the Starwings. You are… Starflight yes? Sunny spoke of you."

Sunny rubbed against Starflight to sort of guide him, which Starflight appreciated for a number of reasons.

"An honor to meet you, your highness. I offer my knowledge at your discretion." He sits besides Sunny, going over a mental list in his head. "But I must bring up the fact that the Icewing Tribe is heavily fortified, and they normally aren't prone to visitors, not to mention the freezing temperatures there."

"That and the fact no one's heard much of them in years…" Sunny added to Starflight's statement. "Not since Queen Snowfall threatened to close their kingdom off entirely."

"Ah… So, we must find a representative, then." Aries glanced around the room. "And since we have no Icewings among us, are there any other suggestions?"

The room stayed silent, until Moon dutifully spoke again.

"I have an idea… But he won't like it."

Peril's gaze fell to Moon.

"You don't mean Winter do you?"

"Winter?" Stardust's head whirled around between the two dragons speaking. "Who's Winter?"

Moon looked back to Stardust. "You never did meet him, did you?"

Deathbringer sat sharpening his claws casually. "Real charmer, that one."

"Hey," Moon interrupted him in a hopeful tone. "Maybe he's changed. It's been what, two years since we've last seen him?"

"Four." Starflight corrected her, not so matter-of-factly more than setting the record straight. "Two for you, since you've last visited him. Last time any of _us_ has seen him was when he came to the academy."

"What if he won't help us?" Peril's expression wasn't exactly the most optimistic. "I remember distinctly he hated his home tribe… Most of his family tried to betray him and flat out kill him in general."

"Then does anyone else have any _other_ suggestions?"

Moon retorted in kind. Again, a brief moment of silence.

"Okay, It's settled," Moon seemed determined on this matter. "We need to find Winter."

"There is another way," Starflight piped up again. "The Gift Of Diplomacy."

"That's true but…" Moon faced Starflight. "We still need Winter to find the bracelets, I don't think anyone else outside the Icewing Kingdom would have them, or even know how to find them."

"Plus," Surprisingly, Sunny added in her two cents."If he can get in and talk to Snowfall with his brother, maybe she'll be more prone to listening."

Peril nodded, hesitantly but in agreement.

"I still think we need a backup plan just in case."

"Not that we don't trust Winter," Starflight spoke tactfully. "But the Icewing Royal Family haven't been that reliable."

"...or trustworthy AHEMAHEM"

Anemone coughed rather loudly. "Eack, excuse me."

Moon shot her a semi dirty look. "It wasn't Winter that did any of that, in fact he helped us _capture_ Icicle."

"Yeah but-"

"_CAN WE GET ON WITH IT PLEASE_" Tsunami again dug her claws in the table.

"OKAY," Moon settled the table down. "I'll go to the Talons of Peace and find Winter, I'll find Qibli and bring him along too. Us two together should convince him."

Aries seemed wholly confused, looking to Moon. "So…You'll handle it then?"

Moon's nod of confirmation held determination and a tinge of joy.

"Good. That's the Icewings, what about the Sandwings?"

Sunny popped right up. "That's me! I'll convince my mother, she's the queen, so that makes it easier."

Aries smiled heartily. "Indeed it does. Speaking of which, Tsunami-"

"I'LL GO TO THE SEA KINGDOM"

"Me too!" Anemone plopped besides Tsunami. "Mother will need some convincing, I'll help."

Tsunami excitedly turned to her sister.

"Think we should take Turtle too? The more the merrier?"

"Sure!"

"THEN ONWARDS" Tsunami leapt onto the table, posing heroically. Had the room been silent the gang could've sword they heard adventurous music playing.

"TO THE KINGDOM OF SEA, AWAY-"

"Can you perhaps wait until we're finished here Tsunami?" Clay tapped her leg. Tsunami threw her head back in guttural groan.

"uuuuugh… fine…"

Once more she slumped back into her seat. Aries blinked a few times, unsure of what to think. She shook it off and pointed back to the map.

"So then, that just leaves the Mudwings and Skywings."

"I'll handle Queen Ruby," Peril stood up with a smile. "She'll want to see Stardust, and I imagine she'll want to see the egg too."

Clay stood next. "And I can talk to Queen Moorhen. My sibs are part of her royal guard, gives me time to talk to them too." There was a mild tension in his voice, something no one could place. Everyone simply excused it.

"Wonderful!" Aries picks up a few of the tech pieces on the table. "So we are set on the plan?"

The gang nods, Tsunami a bit more vigorously than normal.

"Excellent. One more question… Stardust, are you content going with Peril, or would you like to help me and Hamal set up supplies and a base for our long term stay?"

Stardust, still remembering the excitement that morning, leaned towards Peril.

"I'll stick with Peril. You mentioned one of your guards was trapped in the Skywing Kingdom, we can get him out."

"As you wish. And honestly you have my permission to take your time, Mesar is always getting into trouble."

Hamal snickered to himself, quickly shutting up after receiving a glare from Aries.

"Now then… I would like to send you all with one of these." Aries hands out plate like devices similar to the projector that the map was being displayed on.

"What for?" Peril abstained from touching the machine. "And how heat resistant is it, because I'm pretty sure I'd melt it."

Aries' smile to herself catches everyone off guard. She takes the machine, applies her digit to the pad in the center, then lays it down on the ground in front of her.

"This machine creates holographic projections of complex creatures, creating pre-recorded messages very similar to real life."

She presses the button once more, as it creates a holographic image in front of her, saying the exact same thing. The hologram was in near exact color, only failing to produce fine details that made the image seem a bit more flat and unrealistic. The group nearly fell back in amazement.

"_This machine creates holographic projections of complex creatures, creating pre-recorded messages very similar to real life_."

Clay inspected the hologram up and down.

"That's… amazing!"

"That is SO COOL!" Stardust hopped around his mother excitedly. Starflight glanced around.

"I couldn't see anything but that sounds incredible."

His comment elicited a few chortles, and Aries set the machine on the table.

"I want to record messages for each of the queens, personalizing them as a sort of invitation to them all. Each of you will take one to present to their respective queens. Are we in agreement?"

A round of agreement reverberated through the room. Aries again smiled, this time with excitement and energy.

"_Let's get started then!"_

**-X-**

'You really like this waterfall don't you?'

'Don't _you_?'

Peacemaker sat in a meditative pose by the familiar and calming waterfall near his mother's home. It always seemed to soothe his mind, and whatever lurked inside.

'It's nice, but it makes it hard to think. And lest you forget, I'm currently _made of thought entirely_.'

'Almost as if that's the point.'

Darkstalker laid himself in a quiet spot in Peacemaker's head, although no place existed in his consciousness.

'I see… I'll hush then.'

'Thank you…'

Peacemaker drew in deep breaths, slowing his heart rate and relaxing his body. At last, he had felt a bit more at ease for the first time in months. Admittedly, having Darkstalker's consciousness in his mind was more preferable than having his memories flash through his mind every night. He dwelled on which he preferred.

'I'd _much_ rather have someone else in my mind… Having night flashes sounds awful.'

Peacemaker sighed once more.

'No duh.'

'I would apologize for your going through it, but I didn't have anything to do with that, so…'

'Excuse you, you had _everything_ to do with that! You could've just... not done that!'

'At that point, I wasn't even conscious. I existed in purely unconscious memories, suppressed by the dominant consciousness in this body, namely you. Somehow Stardust _activated_ me, so if there's anyone to blame it's him.'

Peacemaker clenched his fists, the ground swirling around him as the dust spiralled with his magical energy.

'Don't you _dare_ blame him for any of this… he's been the most helpful dragon in my life, he's helped me through what _YOU_ put me through.'

'Again, I'm sorry but that wasn't me! Contrary to belief… I don't wish to cause any harm.'

'Lies.'

'Okay… There's a few dragons I'd harm, granted. But the general population I'd protect.'

'You just want power… Power because you feel helpless.'

Darkstalker attempted to speak back in retaliation, but his words failed him.

'...That's…'

Peacemaker did his best to glare inwardly. Darkstalker seemed to wince a bit.

'...You got me there… I guess what burns me the most is having to rely on others so much… Since most of them tried to kill me.'

'I know… Some of them were justified, some were just cruel… Not all dragons are bad, Darkstalker. There is good in all of us.'

As if on cue, Hope peered out her window.

"_PEACEMAKER, PIE IS READY!"_

Darkstalker had been interrupted by Hope, about to say such a sentiment was foolish to believe in. But the example of Foeslayer spoke to him, having turned around from such a dark past. He stayed quiet for a time.

'And if I may be so bold to say… There's good in you too, I know that much.'

Peacemaker's addendum forced a self introspection onto Darkstalker, calling into account his own actions.

'...Perhaps.'

He quickly changed the subject.

'Are you going to tell mother what happened?'

Peacemaker still hadn't come with an answer to this, coming out to the waterfall to meditate on the answer didn't seem to help.

'Eventually I think I have to…'

He stood up and hopped down to his house.

'But not yet.'

He entered inside, where Hope prepared another strawberry pie on the table.

"You feeling better?" Hope came around and nosed Peacemaker's head gingerly. Peacemaker nosed back and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He sat at the table with his mother, only a wingtip apart. "Thanks for the pie mom, you make the best Strawberry Pie.~"

Peacemaker could feel Darkstalker at the front of his mind, watching intently. 'She really does.'

Hope wrapped a wing around her son tenderly and planted a tender kiss on his cheek.

"Well, mama makes the best pie for the best son."

As Peacemaker looked internally once more, he didn't need a mind reader to see that Darkstalker was yearning for more than freedom. He glanced up at his mother.

"Hey mom, I have a hypothetical question…"

She leaned her head atop Peacemaker's gently.

"Mm?"

He laid in her arms snugly.

"If you could say something to Darkstalker again… Not me, but him… What would you say?"

Peacemaker could've sworn that Darkstalker was tilting his head. 'What're you doing…?'

Hope paused for a moment, taking a serious look at Peacemaker.

"Peace… Is everything ok?"

"Yes, I promise. I was just curious…"

Hope seemed satisfied by the answer, nodding.

"Okay… Well, If I had the chance…"

Darkstalker stood behind Peacemaker's metaphorical eyes, watching as Peacemaker looked to Hope's thoughtful and reminiscent expression.

"I would tell him that I forgive him, and that he is still my son. I still love him, no matter how far gone he may be…"

Even as Darkstalker knew that Peacemaker planned this all along, he still met her eyes intently. These words struck a familiar chord that hadn't been struck for years. Gazing into her eyes brought back a feeling of comfort and safety.

"If he were somehow listening, I just want him to know he still has my care and love."

And with that, Darkstalker sat on the floor of the prison he was trapped in, staring out through the bars and wishing for a second chance.

**-X-**

"YOU'RE _STILL_ NOT PACKED YET?!"

Tsunami yelled down the hall at Turtle, who was frantically putting things in his satchel.

"No I'm not packed! You told me two minutes ago we're leaving, and you haven't even told me what's going on!"

"WELL HURRY UP!"

Anemone rushed to Turtle and helped him gather his things, alongside Moon.

"Can you at least _tell_ _me_ what's going on?"

"In short," Anemone kept up with handing Turtle objects he pointed out. "We're going to see mother to ask her to meet with Queen Aries. So, we need all the help we can get."

"But why?! You and Tsunami are her precious daughters, you can just go tell her, right?"

Tsunami poked her head in briefly.

"You _really_ don't know our mother at all, do you?"

Moon then turned around, slinging a small pack on her back between her wings. "I'm sure she'll agree, since this is kind of a huge deal. I mean, what possible reason could she have for saying no?"

"I mean," Anemone shrugged. "That is true. She's hard to convince on things she's set on, but of things she's unsure of, she's pretty open minded."

"She's a good queen!" Turtle finally closed his pack. "I think she'll make the best decision for her tribe."

"Which is saying yes to the pretty space queen's offer, which I have my doubts on." Tsunami gestured to the nearby outside entrance. "But wHO KNOWS WHAT SHE THINKS, WE NEED TO _G E T_ THERE FIRST!"

"OKAY, Okay! Jeez, I'm coming!" Turtle pounced after her with Anemone behind him. He rushed by Moon and Sunny.

"Bye guys, stay safe!" He waved along with Anemone, as the trio of Seawings thrust into the sky towards the Kingdom of Sea in the northeast. Moon and Sunny watched them disappear into the horizon, then heading into Clay and Peril's cave where Stardust, Aries and Hamal, and Clay and Peril were all packing and unpacking respectively.

"Hey," The duo peered inside, Sunny addressing the room. "Me and Moon are ready, we're gonna head out."

Clay padded on over to give the two both hugs.

"Be safe guys," He squeezed Sunny a bit as she hugged back with a smile. "We're gonna change the world!"

"Woo! Yeah, back in action!" Sunny bounced around and waved to everyone else. Moon followed suit and walked backwards through the door still waving.

"Byyyye!"

Peril and Stardust waved back, Aries as well.

A collective "Byye!" rang through the room as Moon and Sunny leapt into the air outside.

Peril looked to Stardust and Clay. "Well… I think we're about ready to head out too."

Stardust nodded, gathering his pack and padding up to Peril. "I'm ready when you are."

Aries nosed up to Stardust and planted a tender kiss on his forehead. "My little prince… making me so proud.~"

Peril followed suit, hugging Stardust tightly. "Mama too."

Clay wrapped the whole group in a giant hug with his wings. "Daddy too! Don't forget me, I'm proud of him too!"

"_I can't breathe!" _Stardust wriggles a bit between all three guardian's bodies. They let go as he gasps a bit.

"Too much love! Too much _love_!"

Clay gently hugged him one last time. "Nonsense, no such thing."

Stardust giggled and hugged him back, planting a peck on his cheek. "Hehe. Love you!"

He next went to Peril. "Mwa, love you too!"

He pounced up to Aries next. "Mwa, love _you_ too!"

Finally he looked to Hamal. "Hamal!"

He stood at attention. "Yes my Prince?"

Stardust quickly planted a peck on his cheek, to Hamal's surprise.

"Love ya.~"

He rubbed his cheek with the brightest smile in the room.

"Thank you, Stardust! I have fond affection towards you as well."

Aries chortled to herself, watching Hamal's blush intensify. Peril nosed up to Stardust.

"Shall we go then? The Skywing kingdom isn't close by, the sooner the better."

Stardust nodded, Peril turning to Clay who seemed just a tad anxious.

"You gonna be okay? I know it's been awhile since you've seen your sibs, it's okay to be nervous."

Clay presented himself in a brave and assured manner. "Yeah, of course I got this! I'm a Mudwing after all, it's my home tribe. You and Stardust go have fun with Ruby, don't you worry about me."

"I always worry about you, my big strong _hunky_ Mudwing.~" Peril nosed Clay with a chuckle, who laughed in return and met her snout with a short kiss.

"Well your hunky Mudwing will be back before you know it.~"

"Oh come onnnn, you guys can talk mushy to each other when we get back!"

Peril nosed Stardust out the cave, following him out. "Alright, alright. Love you dear!"

Clay waved and blew a kiss as the two set off into the distance. He sat there and turned to Aries.

"Aries… Can I be honest with you?"

Aries, still taken with her setting up, responded but didn't look over.

"Certainly, what's the matter?"

"I'm not scared or nervous." Clay flopped on the floor and rested his paws on his snout and eyes.

"I'm terrified…"

Aries noted Clay's tone, and set her pad down to turn to him. "Why is that, is something wrong? I can send Hamal with you if you'd like."

Clay simply flopped over onto his back on the stone cave floor.

"It's not the Queen I'm worried about. I can talk to her all day long, probably. My sibs, my brothers and sisters, are part of the royal guard… I love them, and they're amazing, don't get me wrong but…"

He sat back up and paced the floor.

"I haven't seen any of them in a while… I promised I'd come back and at least talk to them, but then Stardust came into our lives and I became a dad, and I haven't even had time to write a letter to them or anything… I kinda feel like I've betrayed them, they probably think that anyways… If they started to hate me, I don't think I could take it..."

Aries prodded up beside him. "Clay, as long as you might leave them or stay away, they're still your family, aren't they?"

He nodded somberly. "They are… But I still feel responsible…" Clay turned to Aries as he explained himself.

"In the Mudwing culture, there's not a lot of parenting involved. Mother's have clutches of eggs, and leave them be until they hatch. The first one to hatch is the largest, and they're called the Bigwings of the group. They're supposed to be the big strong leader, taking care of everyone, basically being the dad of the bunch."

"I was supposed to be the bigwings of my group, but due to some prophecy propaganda and warring tribes and other political nonsense, I was kidnapped from my clutch before I even hatched… They never knew about me, and I never knew about them for _years_! It's only after I visited the Mudwing tribe that I learned about where I came from, and learned that I had a family I never knew about…"

"But I had my own family already, and I couldn't be what I needed to for both, so I left them because they had their own big wings already… And I just…"

Clay by this point nearly had tears in his eyes.

"I feel bad for not making them a part of my life… They deserve more family for all they've gone through."

Aries wrapped a wing around the distraught Mudwing affectionately.

"Clay, you are the most tender hearted dragon I've had the pleasure to meet. Anyone who has you as family of any sorts is incredibly lucky, and I can only imagine how they feel about you. If you care about them…"

Aries offered a sincere and compassionate smile.

"Let them know. Clay, they might not be hurt at all, you could be worrying about something that's not even a problem! But please don't let that stop you from trying."

"As someone who has seen the effects first hand of not showing your family love, I know it can damage your relationship potentially, but since you are already family there is a greater chance at healing what was broken, you _have_ to try."

Clay, now absolutely tearing up, sniffled and wiped his nose.

"You think so?"

Clay wasn't sure what about Aries made her so assuring. He could've sworn she had the kind of knowing expression of someone who had more knowledge and experience of what they were talking about than they let on.

The more Clay pondered it, perhaps she was, seeing as Stardust had been without his birth parents all this time. Perhaps she did know what Clay was going through.

Aries' smiled seemed happier than before, Clay couldn't place why.

"I genuinely do."

**-X-**


	2. Chapter 2 - All In Motion

_[HEY! Thank you all for your patience and waiting so long through my... for lack of a better word, turbulent life. I PROMISE you all that this is not going to die. Just... gonna take a little while. Again, thank you all, and enjoy!]  
_  
(Chapter 2 - All In Motion)

**-X-**

Moon and Sunny had crossed the threshold where the sand and dirt began to fade into each other, shrubbery turning into dead bushes. The desert lay ahead, having traveled for an hour or so. They both wore satchels with their piece of technology from Queen Aries.

Moon glided smoothly alongside Sunny, the heat from below providing a natural heat draft to keep them aloft easier.

Sunny glanced over to Moon. "Hey Moon?"

"Hm?"

"Do you really think Winter will help us…?"

Moon stared straight ahead, the horizon seemingly endless. "If he's still the Winter I know, I'm confident he will. He might be hesitant, but he'll see how important this is."

Sunny seemed a bit more confident and happy by her assurance. "You really think so?"

"I do! Why does everyone seem so skeptical of him, he's a good dragon!"

Sunny shrugged. "I don't think many dragons had a good relationship with him, I didn't get to know him that well either."

Moon sighed in defeat. "Well… he isn't easy to get along with. He's definitely got his rough edges, but his heart _is_ capable of… y'know, being friends, and love and stuff."

Sunny glanced back to Moon with a tinge of curiosity. "Friendship I can see, but love? How do you know that?"

"He, uh…" Sunny could almost see the blush across Moon's snout. Either it was that or a reflection across her face, it was usually hard to tell with Nightwings.

"He kinda had a crush on me for a while… he said he'd heal, but I get the feeling he still might be into me."

Once Moon snapped out of her trance of dwelling on the past, she could obviously see the big ol' grin on Sunny's snout.

"What're you smiling at?"

Sunny cheekily glanced back over.

"Totally called it.~"

The duo finally approached Thorn's Palace, busy and bustling with Sandwings, and more notably with dragons of nearly every other tribe as well. Moon swirled around in her place just trying to get a look at them all.

"Oh Moons… there's so many Sandwings here, how in the world am I gonna-"

"Found him!"

Sunny motioned to the Palace Gate, where a single Sandwing sat and waved them over. Qibli seemed pretty enthusiastic to see Moon and Sunny.

"Hey! What are you two doing here?"

Qibli hugged Moon and Sunny happily. Moon hugged just a bit longer.

"I have to talk to Thorn," Sunny looked to the Palace. "Is she here?"

"Yeah, just be careful," Qibli shivered a little. "She's in a mood. If anyone can change that, I'd assume it'd be you."

"I'll do my best." Sunny, eager to see her mother again, stretched a bit and pounced inside. "Thanks Qibli, see you around!"

As Sunny disappeared behind the Palace doors, Qibli turned to Moon.

"Weren't you going with her? What's the hubbub anyways?"

"Actually," Moon nosed up to Qibli with a smile. "I was looking for you."

Qibli's snout flushed ever so slightly.

"Oh?"

Moon gestured to outside the walls, and the two sauntered outside rather privately.

"I need your help… There's something big that's happening," Moon's intonation and expression caught Qibli's rapt attention. "We've found out where Stardust is from."

"Wait wait, what?" Qibli led Moon to a more secluded spot right outside the walls, away from prying ears. "That's big news… what'd you find out?"

Moon leaned in. "They're called Starwings… and they're _here_."

Qibli blinked a few times. "Come again?"

"They're a tribe of dragons that live in the stars!" The Nightwing nearly hopped around in excitement.

"They're so beautiful, and they somehow found Stardust! I don't even know how but they found him! Now they're here and they want to help us, but they need to gather all the Queens for a meeting so they can all agree to let their tribe stay here!"

Of all the things Moon was expecting, a concerned and confused stare was not one of them.

"...Okay, one: If this is true why do you need my help?

Two: This sounds suspiciously like a plot to kill all the Queens at once, and take over Pyrrhia. Just saying."

Qibli shifted in his stance to a bit more worried posture.

"Third: Are you ok? You don't have heat stroke do you?"

Moon slapped him with her wing. "Stop it! I'm not crazy, this is really happening!"

She pulled out the hologram projector from her satchel, putting it on the ground. "Look at this!"

Moon powered the machine, producing a soft whir while it gathered light and projected a hologram of Queen Aries on the floor.

"_Greetings, Queen Snowfall of the Icewings. I am Queen Aries Pulsar of the Starwing Freeclan-_"

Qibli fell back on his scaly hind in shock.

"It's a hologram! It's not real!" Moon helped Qibli back up as he marveled at the projection. After a few more seconds, Moon shut it off and put it away.

"That's…" Qibli still couldn't put together the words for what he just saw. "...Alright, I believe you. But I still don't understand what you need me for, Sunny is already going to see Thorn."

"The _problem_ is the Icewings. The giant wall of ice that'll impale us if we get too close, and the fact that we won't be welcome even if we do get in. We need to find either an Icewing we trust enough to get over, or the bracelets that get us in."

Qibli could already see where this was going. Moon continued.

"And since we don't know where the bracelets are right now… we need an Icewing we can trust."

"Moon," Qibli nudged Moon's wing with his own. "I have no idea where Winter is."

Moon nudged back a bit forcefully. "Then we go to the Talons of Peace."

"What if they don-"

"Oh nOT YOU TOO!" Moon near shouted out to the sky, turning around and pacing back and forth. "WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE WINTER SO MUCH?! I get it, he's a little anti-social, but he's not a bad guy!"

Qibli stamped his paw down. "I DON'T hate him! He doesn't hate me, he called me his best friend! I would like to see him again too."

He paused and sighed. "That being said, it just seems like he wants to be alone. He may not want to go back home, or help us at all. I _do_ see the need to seek him out, and I'm sure we CAN convince him to help us, but I just…"

He shrugged helplessly. "It's not ideal…"

Moon glared at him, causing Qibli to back up a little.

"I miss him too Moon… and I'll go along with you. But it _is_ an eventuality we have to consider…"

Had they not been friends (and brief lovers before), Qibli would've sworn that she was going to tear him apart. However, she surprised him with a hug.

"Okay… You're right, I just... miss him, is all."

Qibli didn't know how to feel about that statement.

"You miss him?"

"Yeah… I just think he deserves better, I want him to be happy. Every time I think of what he went through and what kind of life he's lived…" She shudders and looks back to Qibli.

"I just want him to know we still think about him, that he still has a family."

"Are you sure you don't feel guilty because you turned him down?" Qibli regarded her with a 'Be honest here' kind of look. "Because it almost seems like y-"

Qibli's maw was suddenly closed by Moon's paw around it.

"_One more word and I'll tell Thorn you have the hots for Smolder._"

Qibli squinted and thought out loud in his mind.

'You wouldn't.'

"**Try me**."

Qibli growled ever so lowly in a playfully annoyed tone, then in defeat. He still had a giant smile adorning his snout.

"Okay, okay… I'm sorry I said anything.~"

Moon let go of his snout as he rubbed it gingerly.

"I still have to let Thorn know that I'm leaving, she still needs my help."

The two headed back into the palace, Moon looking to Qibli curiously.

"What's going on?"

At the topic Moon brought up, Qibli's expression darkened.

"My grandfather escaped, and he's planning retaliation on Thorn and the entire Sandwing Kingdom."

As he explained, Moon made more sense of her surroundings; Sandwings running everywhere, scurrying to return to their post and get supplies.

"Thorn is bracing for the worst, and knowing Vulture we're gonna have to be on our toes. We don't know how much he's built back up, who's loyal to him still, or even what his plan is…"

Moon stopped Qibli, right at the Palace Gate.

"Qibli, I didn't know. I wouldn't take you away from this if Thorn needs you, I can do this myself-"

"No," Qibli interrupted her. "It's okay. I've talked to Thorn extensively about it anyways. If she needs me to stay, I'll stay. Otherwise I'll absolutely come."

"Are you sure…?" She nosed up to him gently.

"Absolutely. I owe you, after all."

Qibli led her inside, Moon gently smacking his side with her tail.

"For this, I'm gonna be owing _you_.~"

_[Meanwhile…]_

Sunny traversed the crowded halls, seeing less and less dragons going towards the throne room. The closer she got, the more distinctly she could hear yelling and shouting, things being thrown and stomping around.

She took one more turn around the corner, seeing an attendant Sandwing rushing out looking fearful for their life. Along came Smolder, equally bewildered until he saw Sunny.

"SUNNY! Good!"

Before she could say anything, he pushed her into the Throne Room.

"Go and talk some sense into her!"

The doors behind her slammed closed. At this point Sunny was quite violently confused and just a bit worried.

The throne room was empty, least astonishingly. Most astonishingly, it was almost completely trashed. Carpets clawed to shreds, pottery smashed with their bits scattered, royal guard spears left on the floor. It hadn't looked sacked or raided, more like someone just wanted to destroy something… and destroy they did.

"_WHAT_ NOW?!"

Thorn, in a pallid rage, emerged from the adjacent room with a spear and a gaze so intense the nearest object might have burst spontaneously into flames. Her jewelry was torn asunder and hung off her body drippingly.

The enraged Sandwing Queen pointed the spear unrestrainedly at Sunny, who raised her hands up in defense.

"Mother, it's me!"

A flash of surprise flashed across Thorn's eyes, melting into affection and warmth.

"_Beetle!_" Thorn dropped her spear, wrapping Sunny in a tight and tender hug which Sunny returned.

"Hey, what happened here? Is everything okay, are _you_ ok?"

Thorn equipped a facade of a smile that was obviously for show, but did so for Sunny out of affection.

"Is everything ok? No, not really. Am I okay? That is entirely up for debate, but I am doing better now that you're here."

Thorn nosed Sunny's cheek tenderly. "Today has been going entirely downhill, so I'm a little bit…"

As Sunny peered into Thorn's gaze, it was apparent that stress was abundant in her current life.

"... _Perturbed_. But it's nothing I can't handle, no one ever said that being Queen would be easy."

"I know the feeling… Running a school is the same way, really." Sunny nosed back and planted herself in front of Thorn with compassionate determination.

"I'm sorry you're having a rough time right now, is there anything I can do to help?"

Thorn's smile cemented from facade to reality, shaking her head.

"Having you here is everything you could do to help me, my beloved daughter. Just help me get my mind off of today, that'd be everything I could ask for."

Sunny grinned back and hugged Thorn once more. "I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while, I've been real busy running the academy and helping raise Stardust."

"Speaking of which, how is he?" Thorn absentmindedly began cleaning the floors, making it a bit safer to walk around. Thorn's personal guards peeked in again, looking to each other.

"He's doing amazingly! Which… Is also what I wanted to talk to you about." Sunny motioned silently for the guards to come back inside, which they hesitantly did. Thorn glanced back to Sunny and said guards, which promptly froze in place and prepared to dash back out.

"Oh?" Thorn gave her full attention to Sunny, resuming her place on the disheveled throne. "Is there something you need from me?"

"Well, in short, yes." Sunny brought out the hologram device, and set it on the floor. Thorn and her guard's inquisitive glances prodded them to peek closer.

"We found out who's Stardust's parents are, and where they're from… And it's imperative that you see. Are you ready?"

"Ready for what? Sunny, what _is_ that anyways? Are you implying that-"

"I just need you to trust me… It's a message and I just need you to watch, okay?" Sunny did her best to assure Thorn, who was antsy and unsure of everything going on. However, she trusted Sunny's judgement, and put faith in everything she did.

Thorn nodded resignedly, and sat back. "As you wish."

Sunny nodded back, activating the machine as it whirred to life. It thrummed with energy for a moment before activating the projection of Queen Aries.

"_Greetings, Queen Thorn of the Sandwings."_

A collective gasp of disbelief erupted from the guards and Thorn, Sunny motioning to wait and listen.

"_Please do not be afraid, this form is simply a hologram, an image composed of light and energy that has been recorded previously, I am not in the room currently. I bring you a message and request. I am Queen Aries Pulsar of the Starwing Freeclan. We Starwings come from the void above and deepest reaches of galaxies beyond yours, but more importantly we come in peace, in hopes of creating bridges between our worlds in unity._"

The guards drew closer, Thorn hopping off her throne to marvel at the device and holographic form. Sunny smiled and watched as her mother fascinatedly inspected the image.

"_Again, I must emphasize our intent of peace. We mean you no harm, for if it were our intent we would have already begun an invasion. That will never occur, for we would lose more than anything we could ever hope to gain. We Starwings value the life found across the cosmos, wishing nothing more than to upbuild and strengthen both our relationships and their worlds and civilizations with our advancements in science and technology._"

Thorn seemed to sit up rimrod straight at this, gazing intently between Sunny and Aries. Every pass to Sunny was a look of "Is this real? Am I dreaming?" to which Sunny giggled to herself.

"_In order for this to occur, there must be a meeting between our leaders, a communal agreement that we may stay on your continent. Therefore I propose a meeting at Jade Mountain in two days time. As you are the Queen of the Sandwing Kingdom, my invitation extends to you and two esteemed guards or royal lineage. We will discuss diplomatic procedures, our communities needs and requirements, what might be offered between our cultures and how this might be accomplished._"

Thorn sat back in her chair, stroking her chin in awe.

"_I beseech you for your assistance in this matter, so that both our worlds and dragons might benefit and grow. Please refrain from spreading the word, whoever might be watching this, until a conclusion has been made by the meeting of our tribes. Queen Thorn, if you could delegate your arrival and questions to Sunny, she will give you all the necessary information._"

The holographic Aries bows deeply.

"_I thank you endlessly for your consideration, for your time and attention. I look forward with anticipation to our meeting, if you would attend it._"

"_Thank you again for your time. Aries out._"

And with that, the hologram dissipated into nothingness, Thorn still awestruck with the guards nearby mouth agape.

"Sunny…" Thorn spoke softly as she stared into the distance. "I didn't just hallucinate all of that did I? Because I don't doubt that I would have considering the stress I've been under."

"Mother," Sunny padded up to her mother. "This was as real as it gets. I can't tell you how amazing and incredible it all is, you _have _to go!"

The Sandwing Queen stood again, looking to her guards.

"Leave us, and speak to _NO ONE_ ABOUT THIS. _**IF**_ I catch a hint of it outside this palace, I will _tear off your barbs and __**shove them down your throat DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR.**_"

Wincing in terrified submission, they bowed and nodded eagerly.

"Yes my queen!" "Of course your highness!"

Promptly they turned tail and hurried out. The door slammed shut, leaving Thorn and Sunny alone again. Thorn hopped up onto the floor and paced the room.

"Where… Where do I even begin?! _Star_wings? Dragons from _SPACE?!_ When did they get here, HOW did they get here?!" She heads up to Sunny and questions her relentlessly.

"Where are they now, are there any with you? Are they all like that, flowing scales of color down their backs? Can, can they fly in space? Oh I have so many qUESTIONS FOR THEM!"

"MOM!" Sunny calmed her down and kept her in place.

"There's a lot of questions you want to ask, I know. Me too, but they literally got here yesterday! Stardust just met his parents, who are the King and Queen by the way-"

"Stardust _is a PRINCE?!"_

[_On the Shuttle_]

Sheratan scrolls through her pad, going through the list of supplies for base camp. Suddenly a stolid THUNK rings out from the chamber Boteïn was in.

"Boteïn, is everything okay?"

"_Urgh…_"

[_Back at the Palace_]

"Yes, he's a Prince! And they're so nice, and they have so much amazing technology and Thorn you _have to go meet them_! This is going to change Pyrrhia forever, and you can directly influence it!"

It was obvious Thorn was bursting to express how much she was aching to go, however she held back her words with sadness.

"...I can't…"

"WHAT?!" Sunny didn't usually ever yell, but in this case she let her voice get as loud as she wished.

"Why not?!"

Thorn paced around her throne room even more.

"Again Sunny, I am a queen. Nothing is ever easy, and I can't just leave. _Especially_ not right now…"

Sunny attempted to get Thorn to stand still. "What's happening? You still haven't told me…"

Thorn resumed her spot on the throne and growled deeply.

"Well… First on the list, Onyx has openly declared herself the _true_ Sandwing Queen and launched a public campaign to mount herself as a rival queen. I'm not sure how much traction she has, seeing as the public seems indifferent about it."

"Onyx is STILL trying to dethrone you? After all this time?"

"It seems so. _Smolder_ can't talk any sense into her, and Vulture has nothing to do with this anymore. Apparently, she was supposed to break him out of my prison but she decided to go on her own."

Thorn seemed to be working herself back up again. "RegARDLESS, VULTURE MANAGED TO ESCAPE _AGAIN_ WITH COBRA AND A FEW OTHERS, so we _ALSO_ have to worry about him…"

Sunny sat besides Thorn comfortingly while she continued.

"So now I have to figure out what _Onyx_ is going to do, while making sure _Vulture_ doesn't try to kill us all in our sleep and _proceed with daily queenly operations regardless_. And then… On top of that I have to be a representative for our tribe to a species of space dragons who want to change our lives forever."

"Wow…" Sunny laid down besides her mother. "That _is_ a stressful day…"

Thorn let out a combination sigh/groan of frustrated anger and tiredness. "Yep… I wonder if I can just politely ask Vulture and Onyx to stop their ridiculous antics for a week so I can talk to the Starwings…"

"Well," The two Sandwing royals sat shoulder to shoulder, Sunny snuggling close to comfort her mother. "Think you can arrange a temporary truce? I imagine they have a lot of stress on their plate too."

"Yes but what are the chances they-"

Thorn suddenly sat up with the idea.

"...As absurd as that sounds, I like it. Maybe they would be willing to talk, at least for a little bit…"

"Yeah! Then you wouldn't have to worry about them so much!"

Again, Thorn was on the move, prowling from wall to wall in thought. "Perhaps it could work… I could have Qibli and my guards spy on Vulture and see what he's planning, then have Smolder talk to Onyx again and hope she's more willing to cooperate this time-"

Before Thorn could continue, the door creaked open with Qibli and Moon peeking in.

"Excuse us your highness," Moon spoke respectfully, Qibli looking ever so slightly nervous. "Have you been informed of the situation yet?"

"Moon, Qibli! Come in, and if you're referring to the Starwings and their offer, I have! It's incredibly exciting! I must work out something, Qibli I need your help!"

"Actually," Qibli speaks up first. "I uhm… Came to ask something…"

Thorn stopped in silence, motioning for Qibli to continue.

"Since you know that we have to tell the queens about the coming meeting, Moon has been tasked with finding an Icewing Prince to get into their kingdom. And Moon says she needs my help to find this particular one…"

It didn't take a genius Thorn wasn't happy hearing this, but before she could say anything...

"Your grace," Moon speaks after Qibli. "I humbly request that I take Qibli along with me, I don't think I could do it without him."

"_But_-"

"Please, mother." To complete the combo, Sunny offered her best puppy eyed look to her mother. Thorn turned to the other two, seeing THEIR equally soulful gazes.

"I…" Thorn rubs her temples and snout, growling louder and louder.

"rrrrRRRRRGRAAH, SLITHERING _SANDVIPER OILERS, _**FINE**! _Go_, before I change my mind!"

Qibli and Moon bow deeply before charging off. Thorn turns in her spot to Sunny.

"_You_ have to stay, I'm gonna need your help with all this."

Sunny nods happily and smiles. "Of course, I'll help however I can."

"Good!" Thorn hops off her throne to the door.

"_**SMOLDER GET IN HERE.**_ _WE HAVE WORK TO DO!_"

From the distance in the halls, Smolder responds.

"_NOT UNTIL YOU PROMISE NOT TO KILL ME._"

"_I'M NOT GOING TO KILL YOU IF YOU COME HERE, __**I WILL IF YOU DON'T!**_"

"_PROMISE?!_"

"_**SMOLDER I PROMISE, NOW JUST GET IN HERE!**_"

A faint pattering of talons to stone echoed through the halls as Smolder prodded his head through.

"Did you talk some sense into her, Sunny?"

Thorn smacks the top of his head with her wing.

"I'm _fine_, I just need your help."

"With?"

Thorn glances to Sunny, as Sunny brings out the hologram device with a giddy smile. For a brief moment, Smolder contemplated running again.

**-X-**

"Can we at least slow down?! My wings are aching…"

Turtle and Anemone trailed behind the ever determined Tsunami, huffing and puffing while the Seawing Princess hurried onwards.

"We _have_ to get there as soon as we can, no time for slowing down! We can rest when we get there!"

"Yeah, because we'll have _died of exhaustion_ when we get there!" Anemone sped up to Tsunami to get face to face.

"Look, there's the Diamond Spray Delta, we're halfway there! Can we take a breather for a minute or two? We're hungry and we need to stop!"

Tsunami adamantly shook her head.

"No! We can make it, we just need to push forwards! Come on, I believe in you guys!"

Anemone groaned and fell back besides Turtle. Tsunami could hear the two whispering to each other, not anything coherent enough for her to make out. After a bit more mumbling, they began laughing at each other uproariously. Tsunami didn't have time to turn back to see what they were up to before they appeared in front of her, simply floating and relaxing in midair using their animus powers.

"Okay," Anemone stretched out with a smirking yawn. "Let's keep going.~"

"I could do this all day.~" Turtle followed suit and cozied up, keeping track with the now struggling Tsunami.

"_**HEY! **__That's… *Huff* __**CHEATING!**_"

"I mean, no one said anything about not using our powers." Anemone inspected her talons casually. "Unless you want to stop, we can totally keep up with you now.~"

"_**I DON'T**_… _*Huff* __**NEED**_… _*Huff* __**TO STOP!**_"

"Okie dokie." Turtle just shrugged and laid back.

"Race ya there." The two animi Seawing Royals sped off in a rather comical and hilarious fashion, speeding off without moving a muscle. Tsunami exerted herself as much as she possibly could.

"**_GET BACK HERE_**_**!**_"

[_A Few Minutes Later_]

_POOMF!_

Tsunami crash landed fast first in the sand of the Bay's soft beaches, totally exhausted.

"_...uurrgh…_"

Anemone and Turtle landed besides her with dignified manner and a sort of magical element of grace, both prodding up to her.

"Sis?" Anemone nosed her head. Turtle followed suit.

"You ok? Need some help?"

"_Mnhhae-hyuhho-muh-mrhfrh…_"

Turtle and Anemone glanced to each other confusedly.

"Huh?" "What?"

Tsunami barely had the energy to lift her head up, but managed to do so anyways.

"_I hate you both so much right now_."

She let her snout plant itself back into the sand, _POMF_.

"Awe," Anemone sat beside her older sister. "We love you too sis."

"We'll let you rest, there's a couple of underwater currents nearby that'll take us straight to the palace. We can take those when you're feeling a bit more energized." Turtle laid himself in the sun sprawling out in peace.

Tsunami growled a deep and frustrated growl. With the will of her mind over her body she stood up on her four legs of jelly, and sat up a bit wobbly.

"Mind… mind using some of that animus magic to help me stand up_?"_

Anemone nodded, then searched the nearby area for something to use. She picked a bunch of bananas after some thought.

"Enchant these bananas so that whoever eats them, will be refreshed and energized for an entire day."

Promptly she handed a banana to Turtle and Tsunami respectively. Tsunami groaned out in annoyance.

"It had to be bananas… couldn't have been a fish?"

"Unless you'd like to swim to the palace in your current state," Anemone peeled her banana with indignation. "I suggest you _eat the enchanted banana, you absolute squid brain!_"

Turtle had to hold himself back from laughing, catching dagger stares from Tsunami. She unpeeled the whole thing and chomped it up ravenously. Immediately she popped back up onto the sand, shaking herself off as a sudden rush of energy invigorated her body.

"_WHOO!_ thAT STUFF **REALLY WORKS**!"

"It's magic, what do you expect?" Turtle's smile seemed contagious to the other two.

"Hey," Tsunami wrapped a wing around Turtle and Anemone suddenly. "Speaking of magic, are you two okay? I know the whole going insane thing is still possible, and I have total faith in you of course…"

Turtle hugged back in good spirits, looking to Anemone. "I'm great! Still feel like my old self, what about you Anemone?"

Anemone nodded happily, albeit reminded of past events that had occurred not too long ago and not too far away from the isle they stood on.

"I'm doing good, I promise." She turned to the sea, the sun still gleaming high in the sky. "Let's keep going, shall we?"

Turtle immediately peeled his banana, devouring it whole. He shivered a bit and hopped foot to foot. "I know! C'mon, let's go, we're super close!"

Anemone stuffed hers into her maw and nodded. "ONWARDS!"

Tsunami and Turtle plunged in the sea immediately, leaving hesitant Anemone to look at her reflection in the calm waters. Introspection wasn't anything new to the Animus Princess, her past decisions haunting her still. But only as of recently has her affirmations taken hold that she wasn't bad or insane, warding off the plaguing ideas of murder, control and power.

Her gaze fell to the other isles, finding a familiar stone building where she and Turtle fought whilst memories and flashbacks flooded inwards. Before her mind could fall to the insecure side of her fears and guilt, she forced her mind to shift towards how she had grown. Her friends at Jade Mountain, her relationship with her mother, sister and brother, and especially Tamarin. Focusing on her in particular seemed to melt away everything else that bothered her conscience.

Taking one last good look at the building, she spoke firmly to herself out loud.

"I'm doing good… I promise."

Without any more forethought, she pounced into the sea and never looked back, eager to join her family.

**-X-**

"How goes our transportation for supplies Sheratan?"

Aries padded down the cave halls speaking to her comm, Hamal and Webs on either side.

"_We've got the last bits synthesized, we're loading it up now. ETA 10-15 minutes._"

"Very well," The group stopped as Webs motioned to an empty cave. "Bring the shipments to the main entrance, we'll move it to the designated cave. Aries out." She clicked her comm once more, then turned to Webs.

"Thank you for taking time out of your lesson to help us, Webs was it?"

Webs smiles heartily and nods. "Yes ma'am, and it's my pleasure!" He clears his throat and noticeably his expression drops some. "It's uh, not like… anyone was… listening… anyways…"

"Well, next time you'll have some students eager to learn all about it. We will need help communicating our histories to each other won't we?" Aries nudges his wing with her own, as Webs' snout lights up with an excited and childish grin that could've nearly blinded the nearest dragon.

"A-AYE MA'AM! I'M JUST THE DRAGON FOR THAT!" He bows humbly and shifts from foot to foot. "D-do you need anything else?"

"We'll be fine," Aries smiles courteously. "Thank you Webs."

Webs nods and bows again, padding off with a giddy pop in his step.

"He seems nice." Aries watched him trail off happily.

"He does…" Hamal rubbed his snout. "He also smells like fish."

"Really? I couldn't smell a thing." Aries heads inside the new cave, inspecting it up and down.

"With all due respect your grace," Hamal follows her inside. "You didn't smell a Porous Leech Nyscalium attached to your shoulder until the crew pointed it out."

"That was _BEFORE_ it's maturity stage, they don't smell until they bud!"

"Your highness, it was causing the other crew members to faint. Like it or not, you haven't the keenest sense of smell."

Aries turned to Hamal with a growly smirk. "_Alright_, you have a point. But that doesn't mean you can call me out on it like that.~"

Hamal's smile was subtle, just enough to make Aries smile too. "Yes, your highness."

Aries' comm erupted with static for a moment, before Orion's voice spoke through.

"_Good morning, my sweet._"

The Queen covered her comm while speaking to Hamal softly.

"Oh, he's in trouble now."

Hamal did his best to subdue his snickering, Aries responding promptly.

"Good _morning?_ I think Good _Afternoon_ is more like it. Where have you been? What happened up there this morning?"

"_Dearest, I know you hate waiting. You _know _that I know. Stardust slept in, which you TOLD me not to wake him until it was necessary._" Sounds of Orion settling into a chair and placing down a pad onto the nearby table rattled through the comm.

"_And after that I was preparing to send him down, when Tau shared a fascinating discovery on the planet's surface…_"

"Oh? Fascinating enough to make us wait _half an hour?_"

"_Actually… yes._"

Hamal and Aries glanced to each other, Aries settling down on a soft cushion she had set in the center of the room.

"Well in that case, send me the data."

Nearly immediately her wrist comm beeped with a glowing blue button, which activated an entire screen down her forearm. Streams of data and images flashed across her arm, Hamal stepping up to marvel at as well.

"...Orion, are you sure this is coming from-"

"_It's not being redirected from somewhere else, that signal is being broadcast from the planet. The mountains you've established base command from is connected to the source of the emission. On their maps it's called the Claws of the Clouds Mountains, of which Jade Mountain is apart of, but the peak that's transmitting is right in between the Skywing Territory and your position."_

"And we haven't seen anything else like this anywhere else? We've explored 87% of our galaxy, this has to have come from somewhere."

"_No one down there knows anything about it? What of the dragons on the other continen-_"

Aries quickly covered her comm, looking outside the cave up and down the halls before returning inside.

"_Orion_," She whispered intently. "_Nobody _knows _about the other continents. They don't know there's _other dragons on another continent_, and you know our rules about _that."

"_Ah_. _Nevermind that then._"

"The question now is how did it get here…"

"_Well whoever it came from, they left behind something to interact with._" Orion uploaded another stream of data to Aries comm, Hamal stepping up to look on in amazement.

"That's been transmitting this whole time?! How did this slip under our noses?"

"_It's broadcasting on frequencies our equipment only searches for on special occasions, had Tau not run a comm sweep of the area we would have missed it entirely. We're still working on a method of communication, there seemed to have been a few bugs in their installation process._"

Aries rubbed her snout in wonder, and decided to let Orion take care of the matter. "Well… Okay, let me know what comes of it."

Before Aries could follow up with another thought, Orion spoke up again.

"_You should have seen your Little Prince, he's actually the one who completed it's initialization."_

"Stardust? How'd he manage that?~"

"_We were so caught up with debating whether to let it finish, only Stardust saw the active panel with the needed specifications, and he took the initiative and did what he thought was right._"

Aries held her heart with a prideful and sappy smile.

"My boy…"

"_He's taking to his role quite well, a natural for someone who's been thrust into this like he has._"

"I'll say, he's doing quite well down here."

Aries then laid down and stretched a bit.

"Speaking of which… When are you going to come down here dearest? It's absolutely amazing, you're going to love it.~"

"_As soon as I wrap things up here, I'll be down to meet everyone. You've met up with Stardust's adoptive parents?"_

"I have, and they're the sweetest couple I have ever laid eyes on."

"_Oh? What happened to us?_"

Aries chuckled herself. "Besides us.~"

Orion's deep and loving laughter echoed over the mic.

"_Glad to hear, anything you need from up here dearest?_"

"No, we're all fine down here. All I need is you."

"_You'll have me soon. Then we can all be family once more…_"

Aries couldn't help but detect the intonation of sadness in his voice, but hesitated to inform him of what she promised she would.

"Orion…"

"_Yes my queen?_"

The words caught in her throat, unable to let them go at the expense of Libra's worry floating around in her head. She sighed and shook herself off.

"Nevermind, nothing important, I'll let you know when you get down here."

"_Alright. Let me know if anything else comes up, keep me apprised."_

"Of course. Love you dear."

"_Love you too.~_"

Static rushed between the comms, cutting out a second later. Aries sighed to herself and stood up with a stretch. Hamal stepped beside her, seeming a bit concerned.

"My queen… Is there something you're not telling us? Something we should be aware of?"

Aries, looking straight ahead, turned outside and motioned for Hamal to follow.

"Not for long."

**-X-**

"Are they gathered?"

Glory rummaged through her sparse chest of queenly adornments, Deathbringer and Jambu standing aside.

"Greatness congregated the Nightwings around the pavilion." Deathbringer watched as Glory tried on a few different simple necklaces, each with distaste. Jambu prodded up besides her.

"And I got all the rainwings together, we're all waiting sis."

Glory growled and grumbled under her breath.

"Stupid jewelry… I don't look good in anything Grandeur left behind…"

Deathbringer nosed up behind her.

"I think the problem is you look good in everything."

"Deathbringer I swear," She glared at him through the mirror. "Not right now."

Jambu picked out a single hibiscus flower from the surrounding area, and gently placed it snugly on her head, tufted between her ear and horn.

"Simple is better?"

Glory looked at herself with the flower, a small smile tugging at her maw. Deathbringer snapped his talons (somehow) and dug out a simple black pendant, hanging just beneath her neck.

"Best of both worlds."

The smile across her maw sprouted into a soft contented grin. She hugged the two dorks compassionately.

"Thank you… Guess I'm just a little nervous."

"I'd be too," Deathbringer peeked outside, seeing the rather large congregation of dragons. "You know what you're going to say?"

Glory shook herself a bit. "Mostly. But yes, I have a plan, just back me up, ok?"

The Nightwing nods affirmatively, while Jambu pops up again. "I can back you up too!"

"Thank you Jambu," Glory steps to the leafy entrance, grabbing the hologram device that Aries entrusted to her. "Just… Don't over do it, ok?"

"Got it!"

The trio stepped outside into the leafy pavilion, surrounded by a massive group of Rainwings and Nightwings. Glory noted the Nightwings bustled about with energy, the Rainwings lax but curious. Deathbringer stood with Greatness who headed the Nightwings, while Jambu stood with the Rainwings.

Glory built up her queenly energy and spoke with as much authority as she could muster.

"Nightwings and Rainwings!" The crowd silenced rather quickly. "Thank you for convening on such short notice, I've been…"

Glory shuffled in place for a second. "Made aware of something incredible, that requires the time and attention of all of us."

The Rainwings turned to each other curiously, all except a few that knew. The Nightwings however, seemed quite excited. Greatness quickly paced up to Glory.

"Glory, is this about the City of Night?"

The Rainwing Queen's scales fringed with a greyish blue tint as she blinked a few times.

"The City of Night...?"

Greatness nodded. "There's been rumors of efforts to restore the Lost City, and the citizens are greatly excited. Was this what you were going to talk about?"

That grayish blue fringe spread down her back and sides, droplets of red and yellow spreading all around. She glared at Deathbringer from across the way, who ducked down a bit.

"Glory, are you ok…?" Greatness seemed quite concerned about Glory, who in return returned to her queenly stature and addressed the crowd.

"Nightwings… I've _just now_ been informed of the rumor about the City of Night, and… While it wasn't what I was intending on discussing…"

The entirety of the Nightwing crowd leaned forwards in anticipation.

"...I do not have an answer for you as of now. It _is_ a topic that must be addressed, but there are no restoration efforts being done to my knowledge."

A single dragon peeked his head up from the crowd.

"_Are there any being done __**outside**_ _of your knowledge?_"

Glory paused for a second.

"...Well if it was outside my knowledge, _HOW WOULD I KNOW?_"

"_...Yeah but what if-_"

"**LOOK**, that's not what I gathered you here to discuss. And while it IS an important topic, there's something more pressing you must be made aware of-"

A different Nightwing head popped out of the crowd.

"_WHAT COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN OUR FUTURE?_"

Glory, now struggling to keep her voice above the crowds, felt her calm demeanor sink away.

"**THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEAN!**"

"_YOU CAN'T JUST PUSH US ASIDE!"_

"_WE WANT A BETTER FUTURE!"_

The crowd of Nightwings seemed to grow more and more belligerent, their hopes dashed into anger. Glory deflated and racked her brain on how to settle the crowds.

Before she could open her mouth again, a certain Rainwing took a spot beside her and stood right in front of the Nightwings.

"_**WE'VE BEEN VISITED BY DRAGONS FROM **__**SPACE**__**!**_"

That certainly got their attention. The Nightwings, including Greatness, stopped in their tracks in both curiosity and bewilderment. Deathbringer hopped up beside her and Jambu.

"He's not kidding, a new tribe of dragons from outside Pyrrhia has made contact here. They are from the stars above, and both me and Glory can attest to that."

Glory shook herself off and spoke up again.

"They call themselves Starwings, and yes, they are from the stars that shine above us. I've met with them, so has Deathbringer. And if you don't believe me…"

Glory places the holographic machine at her feet in front of the crowds.

"They have a message for us."

As it whirrs to life, the crowds whisper among themselves and watch intently. After a moment, a forme of Queen Aries manifested from nothingness and stood before the awestruck crowds. Gasps and voices of shock erupted from both sides and all through the pavilion.

With her first words, all the jungle fell silent.

"_Greetings, Rainwings and Nightwings of Pyrrhia. My name is Aries Pulsar, and I am Queen of a nomadic tribe of dragons, that inhabit the vastness of the inky black above, The Starwing FreeClan."_

The collective crowd watched intently the holographic figure, and as she gazed upwards so did the collective tribe as well.

"_For millennia we have inhabited the vast reaches of space, traversing our galaxy in search of life and civilization. Our search after our lost son has led us to your continent, and into contact with your tribes. And as we wish no ill-will or harm, we only ask to let our two species and communities unite, and strengthen each other."_

Now, heads began to turn between the citizens, both Rainwing and Nightwing. Whispers rushed like wind around the pavilion.

"_A meeting between all the queens of Pyrrhia is being arranged as we speak, to further discuss the possibilities and details. This first contact is a message of peace, of good will, and greatest of all… Hope. All that I ask is your consideration of our presence."_

She bows deeply with respect.

"_Thank you for your time, I wish you and your planet the blessings of the living universe, and I hope to meet you all soon. Aries out."_

The holographic device whirred to a stop, the image fading out entirely. The silence resumed again, leaving Glory on the stage to gauge their reaction.

"...Do you still want to discuss the City of Night after that?"

A few heads shook no, the rest of the crowd still stunned. Glory sat down, preparing herself for a big speech again.

"Citizens of the Rainforest, this is _history_ that will be talked about _for eons_! This event will irrevocably change the face of our planet, our tribes, our cities and towns! We can learn of technology beyond our comprehension, the possibilities are limitless!"

"Queen Glory," A spry Rainwing, Banana specifically, poked their head up a bit. "We understand all that now, but… What do we do?"

"Right now," Glory responded kindly. "All I need is your cooperation. Big things are going to be happening for a while, but I can only request that you try and continue your lives as normal, or at least as normal as can be. Keep this news in mind, soon there'll be polls and such to collect the opinion of our tribes. But for now…"

Glory sighs and rubs her head some. "Just… Carry on. I'll hold another meeting soon for the other topic to be considered, being the possibility of reconstructing the City of Night. Thank you all for your time."

Glory bowed deeply, quickly sauntering off stage with Jambu and Deathbringer.

"Well," The Nightwing spoke with a hopeful intonation as the trio entered Glory's room once more. "I think that went well?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THERE WERE RUMORS LIKE THAT FLOATING AROUND?!" Nearly immediately, Glory's previously green and blue scales frenzied in red and yellow bursts across her body. Deathbringer shrank back a bit.

"I didn't think they were serious! I gave them no thought!"

"You didn't give rumors of restoring the Nightwing City," Glory paced around while Jambu sat aside watching with morbid curiosity. "Of which every Nightwing in our tribe would happily believe and put their hopes in… _ANY THOUGHT?!_"

At Glory putting it like that, Deathbringer just shrugged helplessly.

"Um… Kinda…?"

Before Glory could throttle the Nightwing, Jambu popped up again.

"Hey! We can deal with that later! We have more important matters to attend to!"

Glory stopped in her tracks and growled.

"Rrr… Thank you Jambu. You and Deathbringer go put up the polls we discussed earlier, let everyone know they're up for the public." She eyed Deathbringer with daggers.

"_I'll deal with you later_."

Deathbringer and Jambu slunk away, followed by Glory who went to retrieve the hologram device.

...only to find it was not in the place she left it. She hadn't taken it with her, and she hadn't entrusted it to anyone else, which only worried her more so.

"Jambu, Deathbringer! What happened to the hologram device?!"

The two popped their heads back around the corner.

"We thought you had it!" Jambu ran back to inspect the area. Surprisingly, no device. Before anyone could get a chance to say anything more, a Rainwing guard swooped down to Glory.

"My Queen, an intruder was spotted in the area. A _Sandwing_."

**-X-**

"What do you think of her?"

The last of the peaks disappeared behind Stardust and Peril as they made their way to the Skywing Kingdom. Peril looked to her son in response to his question.

"What do I think of Aries?"

Stardust nodded, the two simply gliding over the small Skywing towns below. Peril sighed to herself in thought.

"I think that had you been born with her as a mother, you would still have an incredible life. She is an amazing dragon, and I'd trust her with near anything, especially you."

"Do you say that just because she's the Queen of a super cool space tribe?"

Peril chuckles and shakes her head some.

"No, but that is one reason. She's just a fantastic dragon in general! She's smart, tactful, agreeable, charismatic, and she seems to be a very caring and loving to both her family and her tribe."

Stardust beams a smile of pride and unabashed happiness.

"She is! I still can't believe all this is happening, I mean… Had I told you we'd be visited by dragons from the stars, that I'm actually a prince, and we're gonna get a chance to LIVE with them…"

Stardust looks to Peril. "I mean, would you even partially believe me?"

Peril shakes her head no, looking ahead to the distant towns. "I would think you were a little crazy, admittedly."

"I would too." Stardust thought to himself, still gliding on autopilot. His mind wandered around the prospect of what living together as one tribe would be like…

The more he thought of the idea, the more his heart beat out of his chest and into his neck. Out of fear, or of excitement, he could not tell; Only that the future held an incredible prospect that made his mind abuzz.

"Stardust!"

Stardust glanced around, noticing himself drift lower and lower. Peril already loomed above him a good few feet.

"wwWOAH!" He flapped a few beats harder, rising back to his previous level besides his mother.

Peril flew wingtip to wingtip with him. "You ok hun…?"

Stardust nodded and shook himself off. "Yeah, yeah I'm good! Just thinkin'. C'mon, let's go!"

With that, Peril and Stardust sped off to the Skywing Palace, the glimmer of it's spires shining in the distance.

_[Not too long after...]_

Being regular guests of the Skywing Queen, they were immediately let in. Stardust and Peril were led into Ruby's throne room by two Skywing Guards personally. Upon entering, Ruby nearly throttled the two, to their surprise.

"Peril! Stardust!" Ruby hugged Stardust tightly, and then did the same for Peril (after Anemone had enchanted a special ring for Ruby specifically).

Before either of the two could speak, Ruby began talking again. "Excellent timing!" She beckoned them inside her throne room, heading towards her throne.

"I've found something regarding Stardust's origins, just today in fact! It's incredible luck that you're here to see it!"

Stardust and Peril turned to each other and back to Ruby.

"Uhm…" Stardust looked to his aunt curiously.

"Yeah, luck…" Peril stayed quiet.

Ruby motioned to her guards. "BRING HIM IN!"

The door to the side of the chamber opened in quite a dramatic fashion, as two armored guards brought in one muzzled and chained Skywing-looking dragon. He was blindfolded, and also notably gagged. Ruby stepped down besides the two, and stood in front of the imprisoned dragon.

"Now, I know what you're thinking. Overkill, yes?"

Peril and Stardust nodded quite abundantly.

"Yes." "Absolutely."

"WRONG! This dragon is not at all what he seems!" Ruby motioned to the guards again. They nodded, and brought up the bound dragon's wrist. They seemed to take off a single scale, but instead the entire color and tone of his body dramatically changed into a starry black canvas, a stripe of pulsing light blue and white scales cascading down to his tail. He notably cringes and grunts, not out of pain but of his knowledge of failure.

Ruby presents the now exposed dragon to the two, hoping for a dramatic response. Seeing Peril's expression cringe and Stardust remain pretty unfazed, she explained further.

"It's one of Stardust's own species! He was spying on us! They're among us, even now! They're using some sort of… camouflage magic, I don't know how they do it, but I'm willing to bet that there's even more too!"

As Ruby went on rambling about this to Peril, Stardust slowly approached the guards.

"Can you take the blindfold off? Please?"

The guards seemed hesitant to comply with his request, looking to their Skywing Queen. Ruby looked over to Stardust.

"Don't you see Stardust? You're not alone! Isn't this incredible?!"

"Ruby," He spoke calmly, motioning to the guards. "Can you have them take the blindfold off please?"

She seemed taken aback by this, seeing such a calm reaction. Nonetheless she nodded and motioned to the guards again. They complied and revealed the Starwing's bright blue eyes.

Stardust smiled as the two met each other's gaze. "Mesar, I assume?"

He squinted for a second, adjusting to the light, then upon getting his bearings his gaze landed upon Stardust. For a split second there was recognition and fear, then discernment that this strange colorful Starwing wasn't Orion or Aries. After another second, the Starwing figured out the Starwing's identity, and immediately bowed deeply, head to the floor.

Ruby, speechless, stood there in shock. Stardust looked to the guards again, about to ask them something before he decided to remove Mesar's muzzle and gag himself. Mesar sputtered a little before finally speaking.

"Prince Nebula, I _DEEPLY_ and humbly apologize that we must meet this way… I am at your mercy, my lei-"

"Oh hush!" Stardust cut him off and offered a warm smile. "All will be forgiven if you just give me a hug."

Mesar stopped in his tracks, and cautiously brought his head up with a confused but hopeful look on his snout. "A… A hug?"

"A hug." Stardust smirked to himself. "You have those in your culture, yes?"

The Starwing guard nodded, as Stardust enveloped him in a tight hug.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mesar. My name is Stardust."

Mesar hugged back, then saluted in a serious but friendly manner.

"Lieutenant Guardsman and Royal Sentinel Mesar, my liege. At your service."

He leaned in closely and grumbled. "Any chance you can just not mention this to your mother…?"

"Um… excuse me?"

The two turned to a certain Queen Ruby, watching this unfold while violently confused. "Would you mind explaining everything that just happened here?"

Peril nosed up to her. "Well… we have news for you too."

"News?" Ruby turned to her guards, then Stardust and Mesar, then back to Peril, all in a whirlwind of slight worry and more confusion. "_What news_?"

Peril, in response, brought out a small, black disc shaped device and set it on the floor in the middle of everyone.

"You might wish to step back some." Peril pressed a single digit to the top panel of the device and took a step back. Ruby's guards as well as Stardust and Mesar followed suit. Ruby also took a few steps back, mostly out of anxiety driven curiosity.

"Oh good, a show." Mesar stood next to Stardust, almost protectively.

As the device booted up, light seemed to gather through the room and bundled up to the middle of the disc, forming the holographic projection of Queen Aries in the middle of the room.

After the initial gasp, and sudden formation of guards around Ruby, the recording of Aries played.

"_Greetings, Queen Ruby of the Skywing Tribe._"

Ruby circled the hologram with wide eyed wonder, astounded by the image in front of her.

"_Please, do not be afraid. This image is simply a hologram, an image composed of light and energy to form the likeness of me in front of you now. I'm not here in the room, but I am able to speak to you nonetheless._"

Hologram Aries bowed to the room briefly.

"_I am Queen Aries Pulsar, representing the Starwing Freeclan. We are a peaceful civilization, living in the stars above and colonizing the galaxy we inhabit. We bring peaceful intentions, and wish for unity between our two worlds."_

Ruby, still circling the image, glanced to Stardust and Mesar then back to the hologram.

"_I understand you are family to Stardust, and being the leader of the Skywing Tribe, I very much look forward to meeting you. I have asked that several other representatives contact the other Queens, that a gathering between us all might be arranged to discuss the future of our two species. Again, I must emphasize that we Starwings seek nothing but peace, and intertribal community between us all."_

Peril found herself seated besides Ruby as the room had their intent gazes on the message.

"_In two days time, the queens of Pyrrhia will convene at Jade Mountain for a meeting that will discuss this very topic, how our tribes might unite and proceed with such a task. You are wholly invited, along with two representatives of your choosing."_

Hologram Aries bowed deeply.

"_I thank you humbly and graciously for your time Queen Ruby, and I look forward to our meeting face to face with great anticipation."_

After she bows, Aries stands back up and nods.

"_Again, thank you for your time. Aries out."_

The holographic figure disappeared, fading into nothingness as Ruby and her guards glanced around to each other with greatly confused and fascinated expressions, Ruby a bit more anxiously so. The Skywing Queen stood and motioned to the guards.

"Leave us please, _make __**sure **__the room is closed off._"

Her guards nodded, and immediately carried out her orders. The main doors were sealed and the room only housed the two Starwings and the two Skywings. Ruby slowly went back to her throne, and plopped down in her seemingly endless stream of intense thought.

"Alright… just to make sure… this isn't me having a mental breakdown and seeing things I shouldn't be, right?"

Stardust and Peril shook their heads in unison.

"Nope." "Absolutely real."

Ruby nodded with a deep and contemplative sigh.

"Alright, excellent. Now that we have that squared away…"

The Queenly figure arched her head up and with the vehement confusion of a thousand dragons, she exclaims "wH _A _ _**T?!"**_

The trio of dragons standing before her looked at each other for a moment, unsure of what to think. Ruby continued meanwhile.

"EXCUSE ME? _A_ _**FANTASTICAL RACE OF SPACE DRAGONS **__HAVE MADE CONTACT WITH OUR CONTINENT WITH THE INTENT OF CREATING_ _**PEACE, **__AND_ _**GIVING US ACCESS TO UTTERLY INCREDIBLE AND UNFATHOMABLE TECHNOLOGY BEYOND OUR UNDERSTANDING!" **_

Ruby popped off her throne and landed near the three.

"How are you two nOT _**FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW?!"  
**_  
Peril just shrugged it off.

"I learned about it yesterday, so… I guess I had some time to digest it all?"

Mesar raised a paw after Peril finished.

"To be fair, Queen Ruby, your reaction and current feelings are valid and to be expected from someone in your position. This isn't your everyday news, and it absolutely warrants a little bit of a freak out in your-"

"_**YOU **__SHUT UP!" _Ruby pointed a talon at Mesar as she shouted out, causing the Starwing officer to promptly quiet up. "YOU were caught sneaking around spying on us, so I don't think you're in any position to say anything here!"

The Starwing promptly deflated a little more upon hearing that, while Stardust sat next to him and rubbed his wing comfortingly. He then shot Ruby a concerned and slightly angered look. She didn't notice however, pacing around wildly.

"I just… How am I supposed to deal with this?"

Peril caught up to her and stood her still.

"By first of all, calming yourself and not shouting at our newfound friends," Peril grasped Ruby's shoulders firmly and nearly planted her snout to the Queen's. "And getting a hold of yourself to prepare for a meeting with the other queens."

Ruby grasped onto Peril's shoulders in return, taking a deep breath and nodding along.

"Okay… you're right, you're right…"

After collecting herself, Ruby took another deep breath and turned back to Mesar.

"Mesar, was it? I apologize for my rudeness… let it not be the first talon we start out on."

She then offers her paw to the Starwing in professional stature, where Mesar accepted it albeit shakily.

"I assure you, my Queen is as displeased you found me as you might be. She would frown upon this being our first meeting as well." He grasped her paw and shook it in good spirit.

"Thank you for your gracious mercy, Queen Ruby."

Ruby forces a smile upon her snout, and nods back. "Of course."

Stardust, sensing something else in the disturbed Queen, prodded up to her and nosed her wing.

"Aunt Ruby, I've known you to be level headed and collected… not even something like this would usually phase you. Is something wrong…?"

Ruby, planting her head in her talons, just sighed once more. Peril, catching on to the oddness of the situation and realizing who was missing, also nosed up to her.

"...It's Cliff isn't it?"

The silent and slow nod from Ruby told Peril all she needed to know.

"He snuck out again, and he's been gone for two days now."

Stardust and Peril both responded unison, carrying the same worried tone as well.

"Two days?!"

Upon nodding once more, Ruby leapt back onto her throne.

"Two days. No note, my guards haven't seen anything of him thus far either."

Peril followed suit, leaping up to her level too.

"Ruby, I'm sorry… I didn't know…"

Stardust found himself besides the throne on the opposite side.

"Can we help? We have two days before the meeting, that's plenty of time to start a search party!"

"No," Ruby shook her head again. "If Cliff wants to run off like that, then he must want to be alone… I won't hunt him down like a criminal if he decides he's too good to be my son."

Something in her tone of voice betrayed an intensely hurt emotion, as if she was doing her best to cover it up. Before either of the two could ask any further questions however, Mesar stepped forth again.

"I'll find him for you."

Ruby and company found their gazes drawn back to Mesar, Ruby in confusion and secret delight, the other two more confused than anything.

"Mesar, I can't ask you to do that…" The Skywing Queen glanced to the outside window nearby. "I have a team of dragons who can help find him if need be."

"My liege, I want nothing more than to gain your trust, and for the moment ease your mind about things. I have the technological capability to track him down, and I can even talk to him and perhaps persuade him to come back too."

Ruby arched an eyebrow at his statement. "Track him down perhaps. But convincing him out of his stubbornness is something I don't know if you're capable of."

"That remains to be seen, but I beseech you, Queen Ruby. Allow me to help…" Mesar bows before the throne once more.

Peril and Stardust notably keep quiet, looking to Ruby through all this, who's gaze finds the floor as she mulls it over.

"...Alright, I'll entrust you with this task then. Find him, make sure he's in good hands, and if possible convince him to come back home. If he refuses, let him know…"

She stops for a second and exhales sharply before continuing.

"...Let him know I still love him dearly and I worry about him too."

Mesar stands up again, saluting the queen heartily.

"You have my word I shall not fail!"

Ruby then stands up, calling out down the hallway.

"NIMBUS, FRONT AND CENTER!"

Within a few seconds, the Skywing Guard found his way to the Throne Room, spear and all as he stood before Queen Ruby.

"Yes my Queen!"

She gestured to Mesar as she briefed him.

"This dragon's name is Mesar, you and him will find my son. Mesar apparently has the ability to track Cliff using some… unknown means, but I want you to aid him in his journey."

Nimbus looks back and forth between Stardust and Mesar, more and more curiously.

"Yes… my liege… Are you and Stardust related, Mesar?"

Mesar opens his maw to speak, but decides against it.

"I'll explain on the way. Shall we depart, your highness?"

Ruby nods again, motioning for them to go forth.

"Go, keep me updated if possible. And please… be safe."

Mesar and Nimbus both bowed again before heading out.

"Thank you, your highness." "It shall be done my Queen."

The two exit via the hallway, while the other two guards in the hall come back in again. Ruby motions for Stardust and Peril to follow as she headed to the overlook of the city.

"Thank you two for coming all this way, the news is exceptionally exciting and having your company here really soothes my mind."

Peril, empathizing with her sister-like friend, wraps a wing over her shoulder.

"I'm glad we came right on time… anyway we can help here?"

Stardust followed suit as he nosed up to her side.

"Anything we can do?"

Ruby's gaze found itself settling on the city below, the bustling streets and skies of dragons going about their lives. The usual sight to behold, but with the news she had just been given about Stardust and his family… she took a good look at the city once more and felt a sense of wonder and hope she hadn't felt in quite a while.

"...Tell me about your family, Stardust. The Starwings… what are they like?"

Stardust, beaming a smile as the three settled together, found his gaze landing upon the city along with Peril too.

"Well… I know for sure that you'll love them.~"

**-X-**

Clay never did enjoy flying solo. No matter the scenery, no matter how long or short the trip was, if he didn't have company, he was sure to be bored and lonely.

'Shoulda taken Hamal with me… Would've been nice to have someone to talk to.'

Having flown for about an hour before stopping for lunch (predictably), he was back in the air and headed straight for the Mudwing Kingdom, having a few fish packed in his chest satchel with the device from Queen Aries. The forested areas below began merging and transforming into swampy marshes, wetlands where trees and ponds abundantly pock marked the land.

The sight was a welcome one for the Mudwing, though he had to resist the urge not to dive headfirst into the muddy areas. Clay knew he had more important fish to fry.

'Speaking of fish… Kinda hungry again…'

Still looking down instead of ahead, Clay searched the waters for any bigger fish, Catfish or the like. Instead he only caught his reflection in the waters beneath him. The longer he gazed down, more and more his head started to linger on his family, and the sibs he left behind.

Before he let himself slip any further into anxious guilt, he shook himself off a bit.

'C'mon Clay, focus! You got a job to do, no messing around here. You're gonna see your sibs, they're your _family_ after all. Everything is-...'

In the reflection he gazed at, a pillar of black rose up from the opposite side. Perplexed and obviously worried, Clay finally looked up at his surroundings.

The wetlands usually teeming with Mudwings were now abandoned, and that black pillar he saw in his reflection turned out to be much bigger than he anticipated. And that black pillar, as Clay looked harder, was actually smoke.

Thick, and black, flecks of burning material rising up into the air, Clay flew a bit higher to pinpoint the source of the smoke.

...And what was on fire, was none other than _Queen Moorhen's Palace itself, all of it._

'...on fire.'

Clay immediately barreled down, now making out the figures of Mudwings scrambling to put it out.

'_Everything is on fire.'_

_[Near the smoldering Palace...]_

"_GET MORE MUD OVER HERE!"_

"_WE NEED A MEDIC, SOMEONE WHO CAN HANDLE BURN TRAUMA!"_

"_GET THESE CIVILIANS OUT OF HERE!"_

"_IS ANYONE LEFT INSIDE?!"_

As Clay landed nearby where the commotion most intensely buzzed, screaming and shouting as Mudwings panicked and rushed around, he tracked down any important looking Mudwing in the area to try and help. He found a tall but thin Mudwing, dark as tree bark with an underbelly of cream, ordering other soldiers and directing civilians out of danger.

Clay barreled forwards towards him.

"HEY! I'm _fireproof_, what can I do?!"

The tall Mudwing stopped for a second and squinted at this newcomer.

"You're WHAT?"

"FIRE, PROOF. I WON'T GET HURT BY FLAMES! HOW CAN I HELP?"

Just as the Mudwing was about to ask more questions, Several more soldiers pondered up to the scene.

"_Hey, ain't that the Wings of Earth dude?"_

"_Yeah, he's one of the Dragonets of Destiny!"_

"_What's he doin' here?!"_

"_He's here to help obviously!"_

The important Mudwing glanced back to his soldiers, then the fire, and back to Clay with a more trusting (albeit begrudging) expression.

"Okay, look. We need to find out if there's still dragons inside that thing. We don't know if it's structurally sound and it _could come down at any __**minute**_. If you're fire-proof, you might be our _only_ shot at getting inside. That's how you can help. _Savvy_?"

Clay, ever the brave and fearless leader, simply nodded and without hesitation charged inside the burning palace. He could hear the Mudwing attempt to yell something at him, but Clay couldn't turn back now. He dove head first through the fiery entrance.

Now, there were two problems with this. Clay hadn't a clue how big the palace was, and whether or not he could check all the rooms and such in time. Even if the palace stayed up for a few more minutes, debris and burning mud coated the floors. He'd have to search through all of that, and whether he could get all the dragons out in time was another story altogether.

Secondly… Clay wasn't exactly fire proof. Fire _resistant_, absolutely. Having a dragon made of fire for a mate made sure his heat resistant scales were toughened tenfold. But there were a few exposed spots on his body where heat would be particularly painful. And the heat surrounding him found every single spot, causing him to stop for a moment and reconsider.

"Rrngh… Ok, maybe I should've thought this through some more…"

The smoke rising from the ground and from the walls caught in his lungs, albeit being on the ground floor it wasn't too bad. He coughed a bit upon trying to take a deep breath.

'Oh moons… C'mon Clay, get moving! No time to waste!'

He forced himself forwards as he searched around wildly. Only barren floors and collapsed walls with flames embroiling the entire scene. No signs of any bodies, no cries for help, at least not that he could hear.

The further down the halls he went the tighter the corridors. The fires touch freshly engulfed the areas, less heat emanating from down the halls. Clay pressed on in that direction, searching the various emptied and now smoking rooms.

'No one here, good.'

As he turned back, a piece of the ceiling above caved in and blocked his route back. A decent sized hole to the upper levels, however, laid before him. The second story of the palace had yet to be totally engulfed by flames, only smoke and a few walls infected with the fire.

'Up we go then.'

Clay launched himself up, finding himself in the second story of the palace, a large meeting room with it's walls starting to melt down. From here, he could hear the flames starting to rise from down below, but more importantly he could hear frantic and panicked talking from a few rooms over.

As he darted into the halls, he spotted a group of Mudwings; one unconscious and looking mildly burned, the other two coughing and supporting the unconscious on either side. Clay rushed to meet them.

"HEY! YOU GUYS GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!"

The two supporting the unconscious dragon nodded vigorously.

"YEAH _NO DUH!_"

"THE EXIT IS ON _FIRE_ AND THERE'S DEBRIS BLOCKING THE WAY, WE **CAN'T GET DOWN!**"

Clay quickly examined the walls and searched for windows, finding none. However on one spot of the wall, the brick and mud mortar melted and drooped to reveal a crevice to the outside. Clay readied himself as he prepared to charge.

"I'M GONNA _MAKE_ AN EXIT. _STAND CLEAR!_"

Before the two dragons could protest, arguing that the resulting burns would kill him, Clay sped full force to the wall and immediately shattered it with his body, flying through and creating a semi stable exit for the trapped dragons to escape through. He caught the air in his wings and landed back inside, to the astonishment of the others.

"GO, GET _**OUT OF HERE!**_"

The two wasted no time in getting out, hoisting the injured down to the floor. As Clay was about to jump down, the second of the two shouted back up to him.

"HEY, WAIT! **THERE'S ONE MORE IN THERE!**"

Clay did his best to look down without getting flames or smoke in his eyes.

"WHERE ARE THEY?!"

"DOWN THE HALL IN THE BOTANY ROOM! HE'S **TRAPPED** IN THERE!"

Clay nodded in acknowledgement, darting back over. From the time he simply looked back from talking, the flames had already advanced upwards thricefold. The fire licked at the ceiling and melted the floors in certain spots, and it got worse by the second as Clay looked on in horror.

'Gotta move fast, this guy doesn't have much time!'

He sped off through the building, searching the rooms no matter how fiery hot or dilapidated the inside was. Four rooms in however, and he'd found nothing. The flames had nearly caught up to him at this point. He'd almost turned back had he not heard coughing and scratching.

Clay barreled to the last of the rooms, finding a dragon pinned down under a pillar, nearly crushing his chest and arm. The fire hadn't yet made it's way to him or the room, but he looked hurt nonetheless. Clay immediately rushed over to help get it off, but the Mudwing protested and looked over.

"*_Cough_* it's no use, just- *_Cough Cough_* get out of here while you-"

As the two finally recognized each other's faces, a collective pause resulted. Clay's heart stopped dead in its tracks, seeing his brother Reed trapped under the pillar.

"_**REED!**_"

"_CLAY?!_"

Now renewed with strength and determination to get his brother out from under there, he gathered all his might towards lifting the pillar. Reed attempted to do the same, but stopped short.

"N-NO! GET OUT OF HERE, THIS PLACE IS GONNA BLOW!"

"**I AM **_**N O T **_**LEAVING YOU AGAIN!** _**HELP ME, PLEASE!**_"

Reed, unable to argue, simply pushed once more with all his might. Slowly but surely the pillar was lifted up, as Reed rolled out from under it.

"Nngh… thank you, Clay…" The Mudwing stood up shakily, and notably under great duress as well. Clay stood besides him and made sure he could stand, while Reed's gaze was firmly affixed to the wall.

"Of course, I'm here for you… now let's get-"

Clay finally glanced over to the wall and immediately did a double take. Lining the walls were pots of various plants, but an entire row about 10 pots long were solely dedicated to _Dragonflame Cactus_. Reed grabbed Clay and forced him along as he ran to the hall.

"**C'MON! **_**M O V E!**_"

The duo bounded down the hall, Reed a little bit slower as Clay literally ran towards the fire. Reed, definitely not fire resistant, faltered as the flames got higher.

"Argh!"

Clay wrapped his wings around Reed as the two ran through the walls of fire. Reed could only cough and try to say what he could.

"Cl- *Cough, Hack* Clay, if I don-"

Before he could say much else, a piercing whistle emanated through the air… _The unmistakable sound of Dragonflame cactus reaching its critical temperature_. Clay promptly just barreled towards a spot in the nearest wall with Reed in tow, literally blasting out the wall and landing in a rather shallow mudpit, alive but not exactly fine and dandy.

And what followed next…

_...fweeeeeeee e…  
_

_[Meanwhile...]_

"Hey... you hungry?"

A particular cave in the mountains adjacent to the Mudwing Kingdom housed two particular Mudwings… Umber had just flown back with a catch of a few fish for him and his sister a few hours earlier, and he sat there quietly grilling them up. He offered a Catfish to Sora, who had stayed behind and tried to get some sleep (unsuccessfully albeit...)

"No… I-I'm okay Umber…"

Umber didn't believe that for a second. Considering it had been a long while they'd been on the run, and Sora still acted this way, Umber was getting near his wits end with the whole situation. The only reason they stayed where they were was to be close to Reed and Pheasant. And even then… they'd only seen them maybe a handful of times just to make sure they were safe. Sora constantly held herself in a depressive state, which Umber rarely saw her get out of, if at all. And by now… Umber nearly found himself in the same place she was.

"Sora… please… for moons sake, you can't keep doing this to yourself…"

He padded over to wrap a wing around her, as she slowly but firmly pulled away and laid on the opposite side of the fire. Umber, not giving up so easily, followed her.

"It's been nearly three years, Sora… you _have_ to move on from this. You've let it overgrow who you are, and who you care about. And I'm beginning to _lose my sister_…"

Sora, about to respond with her usual angrily down trodden antics, paused as the sound of explosions resounded relatively nearby. The two dropped everything, rushing over to stand at the outcropping of their cave, which overlooked a decent height and portion of the Mudwing Kingdom.

"What was that?" Sora, before depressed and hazy eyed, now stood alert and anxious. "Are they looking for us?"

"No," Umber stood besides her, immediately tracking the smokestacks to the Mudwing Kingdom. "But… something very not good just happened."

Another powerful explosion rang out from the same place, launching a smoke cloud even higher. The two shrank back a little before Umber went wide eyed with worry.

"Oh no… no nononono no no."

Sora, immediately as worried as Umber by his reaction, switched her gaze back and forth.

"What? What is it?"

Umber found himself stepping in place and almost hyperventilating.

"That smoke, that explosion, that's EXACTLY where the Queen's Palace is. Sora, the Queen's Palace is on FIRE, what if Reed and Pheasant got hurt? We gotta go check on them, we have to make sure they're ok."

Sora, taking in what Umber just said, stood deathly still. The prospect of losing any more family, especially the BigWings they loved and cherished, scared her to death. All her flashbacks to Icicle and Crane crowded her mind all at once, nearly overwhelming her with that depressive mindset and anxiety driven guilt, but something stopped her. Something about the smoke in the distance and the horrible feeling Umber had given her snapped something else inside her. She wasn't going to stay put and just wonder if everything would be alright.

Still horrified and anxious, Umber kept muttering to himself worriedly, but by time Umber was finished talking Sora took a single step forward.

"Let's go."

Umber stopped for a second and turned to his sister.

"Sora… Are you sure?"

Sora nodded slowly but with a solemn certainty.

"Whatever happens… I'll be with my family… Right?"

As she took note of the gradual shift in Umber's horrified worry into reassured determination, she couldn't help but find it in herself as well.

"Of course." Umber touched wingtips with her sister, and shifted his focus to the smoke. "We better get over there."

Sora nodded as the two pushed off the ledge into flight. Sora and Umber made their best speed to the source of the flames, unaware of the _third_ Mudwing trailing behind at a distance.

_[At the Mudwing Village...]_

'_Rrrrgh_…'

Consciousness.

The last thing Clay could remember is a deafening explosion, followed by a wave of heat so intense that the mud nearly baked into his scales then and there. His last action was to shield his brother, and that he did.

That being said, Clay could barely open his eyes. With his vision blurred and the world still spinning a bit, the first thing he could sense was… cold.

'Jeez that's cold… ah…'

Coming into focus around him was ice. Mud, water, Ice, a few herbal treatments, and a concerned Mudwing at his side. The hut he could make out was compact but cozy, letting some light in from outside. The tub was of clay and filled to the brim as his body floated in the mixture.

The water was bitingly cold, but the more it settled in the better it felt to him. He dared not move just yet, either out of pain or just plain exhaustion. But his eyes opening was enough to garner the attention of the Mudwing nearby. As Clay gathered his mental faculties as well… he recognized one weepy eyed Pheasant.

"Ph… Pheasant…"

She immediately took Clay's hand and squeezed it tight, nosing it as well.

"Hey… how do you feel?"

Clay responded with a slightly stronger smile than he anticipated, and drew a deeper breath this time.

"Honestly… Cold."

Pheasant cracked a smile with her teary eyes, prodding up to the BigWings' snout.

"I'd imagine… can you feel anything else?"

Clay wriggled about just a tad, letting out a soft groan of pain that faded as quickly as the discomfort did.

"Mnnfh… Sore. But all in all… whole? I don't think I'm missing anything."

Pheasant managed a giggle to herself and shook her head.

"Thankfully no, you're not. The medics were as shocked as I was to find you in as good a condition as you were, hot stuff. You really surprised us."

Hearing that, Clay beamed a prideful smile. He did good, and saved lives today. His smile faded a bit though.

"Wait… where's… Reed?"

Pheasant's smile faded a little upon hearing his question. It didn't fade all the way though.

"He's recovering… Right now he's unconscious, but the healers expect him to recover well."

She placed herself right by the bigger Mudwing's snout, more so out of loneliness than anything.

"He only has some minor burns, nothing bad at all. If it weren't for you Clay… He…"

Clay stopped her before she finished that train of thought.

"I can guess what would've happened… I'm glad I was there too."

Pheasant's smile reappeared just as quickly as it faded out.

"Yeah… I'm glad you're here too."

Clay's heartstrings twanged just a little bit from the statement. He really was glad he could be here for them through all this. Seeing Pheasant again reminded him however of his real mission. He nearly sat up, but failed after his sore muscles forced him back reeling with pain.

"Nrrgh! Mnnfh…"

Pheasant stood once more, and held his hand. "You ok? What is it?"

Clay scanned around the room, unable to see much from where he was.

"Where's my satchel I came with…?"

Just as Clay spotted it, Pheasant padded to the corner of the room and picked it out.

"I got it here. Is there anything important in it?"

Clay nodded. "Open the top, there should be a weird black… thing in there."

Pheasant, confused by these instructions and Clay's description, rummaged through the bag and produced said object with fascination. "You mean… this?"

Clay heaved a sigh as heavy as his body would allow him, and rested back into the tub a bit.

"Phew… can you guard that for me? It's really important. And I mean like… fate of the world important."

Pheasant's eyes lit up again, looking over the device and nodding affirmatively.

"I can do that. Mind telling me what it's all about?"

Clay opened his maw to speak, but paused and promptly shut it.

"It'd be better if you came with me to show the Queen, it's very important that she gets it."

Upon mentioning the Queen, Pheasant's face fell again. Clay regarded her with a "Don't tell me" look.

"We… haven't been able to find her. The Palace Wreckage didn't yield any corpses, but they might have just been incinerated. Oddly… it's as if when the fire started… she just vanished."

Clay, surprisingly, was able to face palm. The icy coldness on his face splashed him awake again as he sat up easier this time.

"Whoo! THAT was cold."

Pheasant helped him stay sitting up as Clay took a deep breath. "You sure you wanna be moving around so much? You just woke up…"

Clay offered a brave and chivalrous smile. "Nonsense, I feel right as rain-"

As he attempted to plant his talons on the edge of the tub, he slipped and fell back in under the water. Pheasant, already being so close, hoisted him back up and got him on his feet. Clay sputtered and coughed whilst shivering harshly.

"H_O__**AH**_! haA_AAAYI_Yiyiyi that's reALLY COld!"

Pheasant, stifling her giggles, helped him out of the tub as Clay managed to find himself standing up. Wobbly and with a bit of trouble albeit, but he stood on his feet nonetheless, even able to shake himself off. Pheasant leaned on his otherside to keep him righted.

"Careful big guy. Take it slow, ok?"

"I got it, thank you sis."

Pheasant offered him a smile… the kind of smile Clay hadn't really seen on her before. The kind that meant she was happy, and she hadn't anything else on her mind. The kind of trust she didn't really understand a whole lot, but that put her at ease immediately.

Clay returned said smile, one more caring and thankful. There were no words spoken in this smile shared between them, but it said more than words might've been able to convey. Pheasant motioned to the hut entrance.

"I imagine you want to check up on Reed?"

"Yeah," Clay could see out the entrance that the sun was nearly setting by now. He might as well make the best of this day yet. "It'd be better if he woke up and we were all in the same room, y'know?"

Pheasant agreed, leading them out the hut and across the busy area. Burn victims were being treated left and right, some pretty minor, and some not so lucky.

"Jeez…" Clay glanced back to Sora watching the area. "How many wounded?"

"18 wounded, the majority of them burn victims. No fatalities, thank the moons… "

Clay sighed in relief, seeing some of the burn victims look to him and wave with a thankful smile. He nodded back, feeling a deep sense of pride that Pheasant took note of.

"Hey…" The younger Mudwing nosed her big brother's neck some. "Thank you for helping… The guards told me what you did in there, you were really brave doing that."

Clay's smile etched itself deeper now, less prideful and more contented and relaxed.

"I'll always help dragons in need, I get the feeling you'd do the same thing."

Pheasant glanced down in thought for a moment. "I would… but I mean fire resistant scales would help a lot too, y'know?"

Clay's snout flushed a bit at her mentioning that. "I mean… that is true."

The two entered the healing hut, finding only an unconscious Reed sitting in the same tub that Clay was in. Pheasant sat by his side, while Clay found himself on the other side as well. Pheasant laid her head atop Reed's shoulder, sighing with a softly worried expression. Clay laid a paw atop hers comfortingly.

"He's gonna make it, I know he will."

Pheasant nodded once more, smiling just a little. "I know… it's just…"

Her gaze drifted towards Reed's burns along his neck. She seemed almost transfixed.

"We were both stationed inside the Palace. Reed worked in the Queen's Throne Room, and I was on regular patrol through the halls. Reed apparently was investigating something the Queen said, and I was in our hut taking the day off, when I heard the screaming outside."

Clay listened intently to Pheasant's story, looking up at Reed as well.

"I got out there as fast as I could." She seemed to tear up just a bit while she looked at Reed. "But I couldn't get in there fast enough. The Main Hall was up in flames before I could even come up with a plan to get inside… and the more I watched the burning building, the more I felt helpless without him…"

"Pheasant…" Clay snapped her out of it momentarily. "It's not your fault. Any of it. Reed was doing his job, and no one could have known that today the Palace of the Mudwings would burst into flame."

He reached a wing tip over to Pheasant's shoulder as he nudged her snout.

"As someone who's had nightmares about protecting his family time and time again, you simply cannot hold yourself accountable for the things you can't control. It'll only eat you up inside…"

Before she could respond, a pair of familiar heads peeked in through the entrance.

"C...Clay?" "Pheasant?"

Clay and Pheasant stood to their feet instantly.

"Sora!" "Umber!"

Sora and Umber stood in the entrance, teary eyed and emotional, as the four of them drew together into a dragon pile of weepy hugs. Clay wrapped his wings all around the three, holding them close.

"Guys, what are you guys doing here? Are you safe?"

Umber could barely make out his words through the tears, Sora could barely breathe much less. Pheasant had her held tight along with Umber.

"We… we saw the smoke coming from the palace… we couldn't just watch and stand by… we assumed the worst, and we at least wanted to see you one more time…"

Sora finally caught her breath, and looked up at Clay, then at the unconscious Reed.

"I-is… *hic* Is Reed gonna be ok…?"

Pheasant nodded slowly, nosing at Sora's head protectively. "He will… I can promise you that."

Clay rubbed Sora and Umber's head gingerly. "Can you two promise _me _something?"

The two nodded, not looking up from their embrace. Clay leaned down to them and squeezed a bit tighter.

"..._Promise me you two will stay here with us._"

Pheasant, picking up on Clay's reasoning and direction, held the two closer as well.

"Please…"

Sora, already broken up about things, quite nearly bawled out into Clay's chest, just nodding along. Umber finally brought his teary snout up to Clay's nose and sniffled rather hard.

"We will… we promise. I don't think we can run anymore…"

Clay nosed Umber's nose back with a sappy smile. "Thank you… I promise you won't regret it…"

As the four settled around Clay, his contented smile could've lit the entire village had he been outside. His wings surrounding the other three, Pheasant looked to Clay with the same expression, happy and whole.

"Heh… all we're missing is Marsh…"

And… as if on cue…

"...G… guys?"

And one by one, as the group collectively recognized the dragon in the doorway, the four MudWing siblings turned to the entrance and immediately surrounded him.

"_**MARSH!**_"

Marsh could do naught but enjoy the love as his family squeezed and hugged him. He could barely keep track of it all and surrendered himself to the dragonpile of family. Tears would form in his eyes too, hugging back all he could. It was only after a good few minutes of this his attention turned to Reed.

"Reed…"

He rushed over to his side and felt his neck for a pulse.

"Please… please tell me he's not…"

The gang rushed over by his side and around Reed, Pheasant and Umber beside him.

"Hey," Clay reassured Marsh in the calmest voice he could. "Reed's gonna be ok. He's just unconscious, he'll recover soon."

Marsh, ever the anxious one, felt his breathing quicken. He held onto Pheasant's paw and squeezed as he failed to calm himself down. Pheasant held him tight, having seen this before.

"Woah, Marsh, breathe little guy. Breathe."

Clay came around as well, sitting down to Marsh's level and looking him eye to eye.

"Marsh… it's gonna be okay… we're all here for you, and no one is going anywhere."

Marsh still couldn't settle his breathing down, and instead just planted his snout in Clay's chest. Clay noted mentally how common this was becoming, and pushed that aside to fully embrace his younger brother.

"Shh… it's okay…"

He leaned down and rubbed his snout along the trembling Marsh's back. After pausing for a bit, Clay spoke once more; this time almost like an announcement, but soft and tender as ever.

"It's gonna be alright little brother… _Bigwings is here for you_…"

After Clay had uttered the phrase "Bigwings"... the room took a hushed tone. Not stunned, not angered, not even a hint of worry. When Clay pronounced himself Bigwings… it could've only been described as wonder, and joy. Soft spoken, unsaid, but absolutely overwhelming to the four surrounding Clay. Sora was first to tackle hug him, curling up in his arms and wings. Umber followed suit next to Marsh, both of them sniffling still. Finally, Pheasant hugged around Clay's neck, spreading her wings around the three in between and acting like a blanket. She simply laid her head atop Clay's shoulder.

She only spoke once more before settling in with her family.

"_Bigwings…_"

One by one, the other three followed suit.

"B-bigwings…"

"Bigwings."

"...Bigwings…"

Clay... had no response. He intended the words to serve as comfort, yes, but he did not know whether this meant he had overridden Reed as the Bigwings of the family. Clay was always the eldest, but Reed was the functioning Bigwings in his absence. Clay knew not what this meant as far as the family dynamic went… but he got the feeling Reed would have approved nonetheless.

Clay finally let his head down over Pheasant's wings, holding his family tightly. With a sense of family and love in the stillness of the air, Clay let his eyes close for today.

"...Yeah…"

His worries set as the sun outside set. Slowly, but surely, and absolutely. There was but peace in his heart, and spoke but three more words.

"..._Bigwings is here now._"

**-X-**

Deep in the heart of the SWFC _**STARCASTLE**_, two brothers Xenon and Neon worked tirelessly in their pursuit of a method of interaction with the mysterious interface. The two worked at the same desk, back to back.

"You set up the Encoding Script right?" Xenon turned to face Neon. "I've got the GUI/CLI bridge good to go."

Neon kept on typing and moving files, compiling data and such.

"Not YET, almost there. This thing has me going in circles trying to codify its root language, give me like three more minutes."

"Dude," Xenon now turned around fully to his brother. "I gave you five minutes, TEN minutes ago! Orion is expecting us to have results, if we don't have something-"

"Xenon, the dragon wants a fully functioning command interface with an alien code that literally became our system code. The fact that it used near completely different symbolic code than our own and MADE itself work with ours, is still something I cannot wrap my head around."

"Neon I was THERE," Xenon turned back around to his desk. "I saw what it did, and yet here we are with almost a fully functioning interface, FOR the interface. All we need is the Encoding Script to make sure what we're sending whatever it is we're interfacing with, actually understands our commands."

"Dude, I KNO-"

_Ding!_

And just like that, Neon's workscreen flashed a Task Complete screen. He curtly saved the file and compiled it all into a virtual globule which he held in his two talons, represented by a little ball of light and data. He turned around to Xenon with a wide grin.

"Dude… we're _ready_!"

Xenon turned back around and did the same, holding said globule like Neon was. They turned to the screen besides them, blank for the moment.

"Alright," Xenon looked to his brother and the screen back and forth. "Same time. Ready?"

Neon nodded, as the two started counting down in sync.

"3.

2!

_1!_"

On cue, the two threw their data globules at the empty screen, which manifested into a simple keyboard and pad, along with the Command Line Interface that the alien code had brought up. Neon and Xenon looked at each other in awe, and promptly high fived each other.

"Yes! Dude it works!"

"Wait wait, we know the GUI/CLI works, we don't know if it'll connect properly talk to the alien thing."

"You saying we should test it first, before we show it to Orion?"

Neon nodded heavily, much to Xenon's dismay.

"I mean… what if we accidentally screw something up? We don't know WHAT this thing can do!"

"They're an alien race advanced enough to come up with universal codified compatibility patches, they've probably made it user friendly enough for a bunch of nerds like us to figure it out. C'mon, something simple!"

Xenon sat back and sighed.

"Alright… let's try… /help?"

Neon nodded. "/help is a classic."

Xenon looks to the keyboard, and slowly but surely inputs the simple phrase "/help".

He sighs and stops for a moment, looking to Neon before he reluctantly presses Enter.

For a moment… nothing. Then, the CLI explodes with a huge list of commands, some as simple as "exit" and "why", others long and complicated and several lines long. Xenon and Neon, mouth agape, looked back to each other and shouted for joy at their new creation.

"WHOOOOOOOOOYEAH!"

"WE DID IT!"

"WE ACTUALLY DID IT!"

This went on for a good few minutes, ending with the two tossing crumpled up papers at each other in good spirits. By the time they settled down, they were panting and breathing hard.

"Heh, phew!"

"Hehe… nice work dude, we did good!"

"Yeah we did, yeah we did.~"

After glancing back to the screen, Neon noticed one command that stood apart from the rest. Something simple, but it drove his curiosity up the wall.

"Hey, Xenon… look at this."

He directed Xenon's attention to one particular command listed: "whoami".

"Whoami… that indicates either it's got a user system, or someone left behind clues to figure out more along the way…"

"Yeah." Neon instinctively pushed forwards to the keyboard.

"Neon," Xenon nearly stopped him. "I think we should tell Orion now."

"Yeah yeah, but… let's just try this one more, ok?"

"Neon I really-"

By the time Xenon finished talking… Neon had already hit Enter.

"Whoami" flashed in the CLI at the bottom of the list of commands, and only a second later, the response was highlighted in all caps. Xenon and Neon leaned in a bit closer to read it.

"Huh… What do you make of it, bro?"

Xenon shrugged to himself, confused but with an ominous feeling he couldn't shake off.

"I… dunno, honestly. Let's just get Orion up here. He'll wanna see this."

The two got up promptly to find their superior, leaving the screen behind.

What the interface gave in response to the command was simple, only one word.

_**"HUMAN"**_


	3. Chapter 3 - Twines of Fate or Wait, What

_[**haHA!** ANOTHER CHAPTER! Didn't expect THAT now did ya? Anyways, things are heating up a bit now, find out what fate has in store for Pyrrhia. Enjoy!]_

(Chapter 3 - Twines of Fate _or _Wait, What?)

**-X-**

'Darkstalker?'

The familiar white noise of Peacemaker's favorite waterfall washed over the troubled dragon as usual, this time listening a bit more intently inside his head. He hadn't heard a peep from Darkstalker in what seemed like an hour.

'You're awfully quiet right now…'

As if burdened to respond, Darkstalker made himself present again.

'That I am. As promised, remember?'

Peacemaker settled back into his usual position, crossing his paws over with a sigh.

'I suppose…'

'I thought you'd have prefered my silence,' The Nightwing laid himself down in the confines of Peacemaker's mind, obviously sulking in his downtrodden moodiness. 'Considering half the time you're telling me to shut up.'

'As true as that is… knowing you're there and just, not talking makes it… weirder.'

Darkstalker propped his head up again.

'Would you like to hear about the time I brainwashed an entire mountain of dragons?"

'I remember. No thanks.'

Darkstalker inspected his nonphysical claws. 'How about my early upbringing?'

'Again,' Peacemaker took a deep breath and concentrated on the waterfall. 'I already remember that too.'

'Mm… I see.'

Another moment of silence… Peacemaker settled in his spot once more, enjoying the sunset nearby. Darkstalker simply twiddled his talons.

'...What about when I made Arctic-'

"STOP."

Peacemaker clenched his fist tight, then set it on the moist stone ground.

'Just… no more about the past…'

Darkstalker set his head down again. 'Fair enough. Any topics of conversation you'd rather focus on?'

Another sigh managed to slip from Peacemaker's maw, exhausted mentally and emotionally.

'Well… what about the Starwings?'

'Mmm... frankly speaking, I'm not sure I trust them.'

Peacemaker perked his head up a little. 'Don't trust them? Why?'

Darkstalker, as Peacemaker could make out, seethed with his past experiences oozing malice.

'Anyone who comes forth with good intentions seeming too good to be true, more than likely is. Everyone has their secrets, Peacemaker. You of all… WE of all dragons should know this.'

As much as he hated to admit, Darkstalker (and him) knew that quite well. His closeness to Stardust didn't explicitly prove that the Starwings hadn't any ulterior motives. Still though, Peacemaker thought it seemed unlikely.

'What motives could they even have? They obviously came for Stardust, their literal lost son. I've gotten nothing but pure hearted intentions from them thus far.'

'They're an ultra powerful race of space dragons with technology far more sophisticated than anything we've ever seen.' Darkstalker popped up onto his feet again, now pacing around aimlessly.

'Power like that doesn't come about through random chance. That power and advancement has to have come from somewhere, Peace. It's the fact that they're as advanced and powerful as they are, and still take an interest in us, that makes me wonder what they really want.'

Peacemaker could see Darkstalker's point (rather clearly, since they were at one point the same entity), yet found himself disagreeing.

'What about me? I got my animus powers from you, that doesn't mean_ I_ have secret maniacal plans for Pyrrhia.'

'Not yet.'

'I don't _NOW_, nor will I **EVER**.'

Darkstalker couldn't really argue with Peacemaker's character, impeccable and morally upright. Darkstalker barely understood it, but he definitely knew that he couldn't change Peacemaker's mind about it.

'Peace… You've barely done _anything_ with your animus powers. You don't want to make a mess of things, which is understandable. But having that power carries a massive responsibility, and not using it at all denotes fear of one's self…'

Darkstalker prodded up to behind Peacemaker's eyes again, or at least it felt that way to him.

'Fear of one's _self_, is to fight a battle _you cannot win._'

'Darkstalker, I am _not _afraid of my powers. I'm just… Careful.'

Darkstalker scoffed to himself. 'Careful…'

Peacemaker didn't find that particularly reassuring, but hesitated to give Darkstalker anymore thought in that regard. He already hated thinking about what he was capable of… And he hated even more thinking about what kind of path he'd be able to go down with it. The more his mind dwelled upon the subject the more nauseated his stomach would become.

'Look…' In an arguable moment of compassion, Darkstalker purposely interrupted Peacemaker's spiral of thoughts.

'I know that thinking of all the ways you can go wrong haunts you. But only staying in one place for fear of making a misstep, only guarantees you will go _nowhere_. You just…'

Darkstalker couldn't force the words out of his maw easily, but he found himself compelled to anyways.

'...You need to _trust_ _yourself_.'

Peacemaker often hated it when Darkstalker made profound points… Perhaps it was the fact that it made Darkstalker seem less like a psycho murderer and more like anyone else. Perhaps someone Peacemaker would look up to. And he definitely didn't want that. This point that he made though… It resonated on a deeper level he couldn't precisely categorize, but one that genuinely made him feel better. It challenged Peacemaker's conceptions towards Darkstalker, for better now.

'Yeah… You're right… I just need to trust myself.'

'For the love of the moons, don't get sappy on me.'

'Heh, right.' Peacemaker managed a smile. 'Back to the Starwings?'

Darkstalker shrugged. 'Still don't trust them.'

'Well… In that case, what _would _make you trust them?'

Darkstalker found himself unable to answer that question in particular. Considering his background, Darkstalker didn't think he could be convinced to trust them.

'Peace, being able to read dragons' minds makes it incredibly hard to trust anyone. Especially after the things I've gone through.'

'I know that, you _know_ I know that. What I ask however, is what would change that?'

Again, Darkstalker failed to answer. Peacemaker could feel his mental tennant's mind searching and clamoring around.

'If anything… The Starwings have put themselves in the position that they must now prove their intentions. If they put their actions where their words are, then I'll be more inclined to… trust them.'

Admittedly, to Darkstalker it felt a little weird saying that, especially considering the topic at hand earlier. Trust felt like a stranger to him now, something he couldn't have anymore. Being inside the mind of someone as innocent and trusting as Peacemaker brought a swath of emotions tucked deep away that he couldn't explain in terms of origin, much less reconcile with now… Innocence, Peace, Trust, even Happiness. Peacemaker picked up on this, planning on using this to his advantage.

'Y'know… I think trust is something _you_ sorely need to cultivate.'

Darkstalker scoffed again. 'Oh whatever. You've got my opinion on the Starwings now.'

Peacemaker watched his reflection in the waterfall, the rainbow scales glittering softly.

'What about Stardust?'

'Stardust is an anomaly, a miraculous accident. He grew up with some of the best parents and dragons around him, so it's no wonder he's done so well thus far, but… whatever circumstances brought him to our continent, he's not supposed to really be here.'

'Not really supposed to- Darkstalker, he's lived here his entire LIFE! How could you say he doesn't belong here?'

'He's not of Pyrrhia, probably not even of the _other_ contin-'

Darkstalker caught himself mid sentence, not daring to continue his thought. Peacemaker finished his sentence absentmindedly however.

'Not of the other continent either, yeah but still, he-'

As if stopping mid air, Peacemaker felt his body jerk hard upon realizing the implications of that statement.

'otHER CONTINENT. _WAIT A MINUTE_, **YOU DON'T GET TO JUST **_**SKIP OVER THAT!**_'

Peacemaker stood on his feet again, now pacing around and searching through his fuzzy memories, racking his mind to find anything he could remember of this other continent.

'HOW did I not remember this sooner? How come _**YOU**_ DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT IT SOONER?!'

He glared inwards at the captive Nightwing.

'Tell me. Everything you know. **Now.**'

Darkstalker couldn't exactly sigh, being only a metaphorical construction inside someone else's head, but he did his best to do so anyways.

'Peacemaker, it's not exactly relevant at the moment.'

'_Like PIE it's not!_ We have dragons coming down from space, literal SPACE dragons! They could help us get to places on our planet we previously couldn't, across oceans or to _the otHER CONTINENT!_'

'Peace, with all this going on, the other continent doesn't need us to-'

Peacemaker, being Peacemaker, shouted out into the twilight of dusk as he finally remembered. "**PANTALA! **THAT'S WHAT IT'S CALLED!"

Again, being unable to sigh nearly drove Darkstalker mad.

'Yes, Pantala. The inhabitants there, last time I recall we made contact, weren't exactly friendly, which is why we stayed away.'

'And the last time we were over there was what- over _2000 YEARS AGO?_'

'Approximately yes!'

Peacemaker huffed to himself, stood once more and bounded down off his meditation rock, much to Darkstalker's dismay.

'**NO.** DO _NOT_ TELL ANYONE ELSE.'

"Oh I'm definitely telling somebody else."

'Stop it! DO NOT TALK ABOUT THIS OUT LOUD, _THIS COULD GO VERY BADLY FOR EVERYONE_-'

"PANTALA, PANTALA, **PANTALA!**"

By now Peacemaker was shouting out loud through the rainforest, Darkstalker visibly angry at his actions.

'I SWEAR BY THE LIGHT OF THE **MOONS** PEACEMAKER-'

'_**YOU**_ can't do anything, you're in _**MY**_ head now buddy. And I'm going to tell soM**EONE ABOUT THIS!**'

_'YOU_ DON'T KNOW WHAT SORT OF RAMIFICATIONS COULD COME ABOUT BY EXPOSING THIS INFORMATION! IT COULD-'

"Peacemaker! Come on in, it's almost your bedtime!"

The familiar voice of Hope calling from a ways away cut through their bickering instantly. Also instantly, the two came up with the exact idea…

'Wait a minute, Hope knows too, _doesn't she?_'

'...**Do NOT.**'

Again, Peacemaker bounded down the rainforest floor towards his mother's humble abode.

'I'm doing it.'

'**NO!**'

'Definitely doing it.'

'_**STOP!**_'

A few short hops inside, Peacemaker found his way to his house with Hope, nearly careening in through the doorway.

"_MOM!_"

Hope, tidying up the living area, turned to greet her son with a warm smile like usual.

"There you are, how was the waterfall?"

Peacemaker prodded up as fast as he could. "Fine dandy great, _listen!_"

Once he had his mother's attention, he looked her eye to eye.

"Do you remember anything about _Pantala_?"

The name resonated with Hope in a way that she couldn't exactly place… she sat up a little straighter as if the word had registered somewhere in there.

"Hm… Pantala…?"

Peacemaker needn't Darkstalker to say a word to know that he seethed with rage, albeit in silence. He didn't particularly care, considering he was getting answers one way or the other.

"Yes, _Pantala_."

Hope didn't seem all too familiar with the name, so she continued her cleaning while thinking it over.

"That does ring a bell." Her nonchalance about the matter, when Peacemaker seemed entirely consumed by it's existence, caught the two off guard. "Remind me, is that a friend of yours? A new flower? A dish of some sort?"

Peacemaker tried getting his mother to stand still once more, still doing his best to convey the urgency of the matter.

"No, none of those. Pantala is the _other continent_, remember?"

At first, Hope's reaction was that of a mother hearing about some fantastical far away made up place, conjuring up endearment and warmth. Right as she was about to respond, the thought pinged around in her head once more, eliciting another more serious response. Her brow furrowed as her memory kicked in, the once warm and affectionate smile transforming to a maw agape, and as her eyes found their way back to Peacemaker, she spoke once more, this time low and quiet.

"...How did you remember that?"

Peacemaker felt supremely content upon witnessing her mother remember it as well, Darkstalker most interestingly found himself a little excited despite all the objections he made.

"Long story. What do you remember about it, because-"

"HEY!"

The mother and son pair snapped their attention to the new dragon finding himself in the doorway. A panting and quite exhausted looking Strongwings had burst in the house, looking to Hope urgently.

"Queen Glory is calling an emergency tribe meeting. She needs everyone at the pavilion, like NOW."

**-X-**

"We've sent three Rainwings and four Nightwings to the Mudwing Kingdom, carrying food and medical supplies."

Glory paced around the pavilion area, having just informed the two tribes of the Mudwing Palace Fire. The Nightwings set out gathering supplies to send, the Rainwings heading out to find and harvest more food and herbs. Deathbringer found himself moving constantly along with Glory, trying to calm her down.

"Jambu is leading the food and herb efforts, and Greatness is directing the care packages. We'll have enough for the whole Mudwing tribe tomorrow more than likely, there's plenty in the rainforest for both of us too."

The Rainwing Queen found herself a wash of seafoam green, strident light blues, a few dots of grey-white, and each of these colors fought with each other for superiority. Deathbringer would've manifested these colors too had he not been born a Nightwing. Watching Glory pace around wildly and with such intense unease nearly made him feel the same way.

"Glory, we're helping them, we're doing good. Everything will be okay."

"I KNOW, Deathbringer. I know."

Glory finally ceased her constant pacing, planting herself in front of Deathbringer.

"It's one dragon in particular I'm worried about."

Deathbringer nosed to her snout gingerly. "I know… I'm worried about him too…"

Glory pulled her snout away and seemed to almost growl a bit.

"You didn't grow up with him as one of the only dragons who cared for you… Stood up for you…"

The Nightwing sighed to himself, padding over to Glory once more.

"No, you're right… He means more to you than he ever would to me." He then sat himself besides the Rainwing Queen and laid her head on his shoulder. "But you mean the world to me…"

As she let him lay her head upon his broader shoulder, Glory drew as deep a breath as she could, letting out a heavy and worried sigh. She turned in place to hug Deathbringer tight.

"You mean a lot to me too… I'm sorry, I'm just worried sick…"

Deathbringer could only nod and rub her back, the two hugging it out in silence. Deathbringer rarely ever saw Glory like this, for rarely did she ever truly get scared by anything. Not even when a pair of Sandwing thugs threatened the two did she falter, in fact if anything she found her resolve steeled even more so. For Glory to be as scared and anxious as this… Deathbringer had to be strong for her, for both of them.

"Queen Glory…?"

The two whirled around to find an anxious looking Peacemaker peeking up at the couple. Glory welcomed him warmly.

"Peacemaker!" Glory brought him into a soft hug, motioning for Deathbringer to give the two a few minutes alone, to which he nodded silently and padded off. Peacemaker squeezed back happily.

"A-Am I in trouble?"

"Oh no little one," Glory assured him, offering her most sincere smile. "Not at all. Would you mind if we talked privately?"

Peacemaker, unsure of what was going on still, nodded and went along. Glory led him along to her private quarters, a familiar room where he had visited often with a young Stardust. Empty save for the two, the hut remained dimly lit and cozy. Glory sat along with Peacemaker.

"Firstly… You aren't in trouble. I promise you that."

Peacemaker nodded as Glory continued. The Queen took another breath and continued, albeit this time more hesitantly.

"Secondly… I ask that you please don't be mad at me or Stardust… but a while ago, he told me about what you've been going through…"

Glory found it harder and harder to continue upon noticing Peacemaker's increasingly alarmed and anxious expression.

"He told me about your memories resurfacing and he told me about the animus powers you retained… And I can promise you now, that I will not tell another living soul about any of it. The ONLY reason Stardust told me was so I would keep an eye on you, and if you ever needed help or needed someone to talk to, I could be there for you."

Peacemaker shifted uncomfortably, his gaze darting around a bit. Glory could've sworn the dragonet was having an intense mental conversation.

"I am not here to alarm you, or make you feel like I'm watching you or anything… Peacemaker, I'm your friend. I want to help, ok?"

Peacemaker, through all this, heaved a sigh and seemed as if he was trying to clear his mind. Glory could only empathize with the little one.

'Poor guy…'

"Thank you so much, Queen Glory… that means a lot to me." Peacemaker offered a smile to her, but continued after. "But… may I know why you called me here?"

Glory couldn't tell what colors her scales shifted to now, but whatever it was, Peacemaker definitely took note.

"I wanted to ask for a favor… something small, but something that'd mean the world to me…"

The Rainwing Queen found herself pacing around again. "Bear in mind, you can absolutely say no if you feel uneasy by it. This is up to you."

Peacemaker found himself settling nervously in place. "Is this the kind of favor that involves me using my animus powers…?"

Glory nodded slowly. "You heard about the Mudwing Palace Fire in the tribe meeting, yes?"

Peacemaker nodded solemnly. Glory nosed up to him once more.

"This morning… A meeting was held at Jade Mountain, where everyone was to deliver a message to the Queens of Pyrrhia. Aries gave everyone attending one of these holographic messages for each Queen. Sunny went to see Thorn, Peril went to see Ruby, Moon… went to find an Icewing named Winter, and Clay…"

Peacemaker caught on rather quickly.

"...was sent to Moorhen… and then the Palace started to burn…"

Glory felt her scales shift colors again, to which colors she didn't even know anymore.

"We haven't heard anything from Clay or his sibs yet… and…"

Peacemaker held Glory's paw and squeezed it.

"I can show you how he's doing if that's what you want… I'm more than happy to help with that."

The young hybrid found himself surrounded by the Queen's wings and arms, a tender and warm hug from Glory.

"That's all I ask. Please…"

Peacemaker nodded, squeezing back firmly. "Of course."

He glanced around the room, looking for anything of use.

"You wouldn't happen to have a mirror here, would you?"

Glory gestured to the smaller offshoot hut, almost like a small closet. Inside lay a wooden table with a cute flowery chest, which housed an assortment of jewels and such from the previous queens. Inside there, also lay a hand held mirror, which Glory handed to Peacemaker.

Peacemaker held said mirror gingerly and cleared his throat to speak, however he stopped before anything could be said. Again, he seemed as if he were in mental conversation, debating something…

"Is something wrong Peace…?"

The hybrid dragonet looked back to Glory again.

"Glory, is it okay if I disenchanted it after…? Just to… y'know, make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong talons?"

After a thoughtful glance, she nodded warmly.

"A sound idea, go ahead."

Peacemaker smiled back, and then looked to the mirror he held. He thought for a good few seconds before clearing his throat again.

"Enchant this mirror to show us Clay the Mudwing as he is right now, his surroundings and the surrounding dragons as well."

The moment he ceased talking, the mirror seemed to swirl to life, forming browns and reds and oranges into a view of a small Mudwing hut. The center of this picture portrayed a particularly comforting scene, Clay and his sibs sleeping in a big ol' dragon pile. Glory noted that Clay had probably the biggest smile she'd seen on him in a long time. And for her, that was all she needed.

"There he is… Safe and sound…"

Glory nosed Peacemaker back with a smile, her frenzied scales settling back into her normal color palette.

"Thank you, Peacemaker. It means the world to me."

Peacemaker beamed a proud and happy smile, that notably didn't last long before it became a more thoughtful and curious smirk. Glory honestly didn't understand the little one's thought processes, but she hadn't a clue what he was going through, so she said nothing.

"Um… My Queen?" Peacemaker looked at the mirror a bit more, contemplative in his words. "May I ask a question?"

Glory nodded in response. "Of course."

"What… Uhm…"

He twiddled his talons in place a bit upon thinking of his question.

"What do you intend to do about the whole… City of Night thing?"

Definitely not prepared for this particular question, Glory seemed to deflate a little bit.

"In all honesty, I'm not quite sure yet. That kind of scenario has a lot of things attached to it that I'm not sure if we as a tribe are ready to handle…"

Furrowing her brow a little bit, she looked back to Peacemaker curiously.

"Why do you ask…?"

Peacemaker closed his eyes once more, squeezing them shut as if talking internally… He stamped his paw down firmly.

"Considering we've already got things going with the Starwings, I think you should help the Nightwings rebuild, and guide them along the way."

Again, caught off guard by the little one's outwardness, Glory hadn't much of a response.

"Well, Peacemaker that's-"

"And," He put a foot forward, as if confirming it to himself as well.

"_I want to help._"

**-X-**

"What have you got for me, boys?"

Xenon and Neon trailed beside Orion, who seemed in a bit of a hurry to get planetside. Xenon tried giving the pad to his superior who seemed single minded in his focus.

"Sir, we created the interface and initial testing shows it to be working well." Neon grabbed the screen next and brought up the list of commands they'd brought up from earlier.

"We found a directory for commands, their root syntax and language is… startlingly like our own, but that's probably because it used our own code to create their interface."

Xenon scrolled down to the bottom, where he pointed at the last command.

"We've done two basic commands, one was to generate a directory of possible commands, pretty simple, the other one…"

Orion finally glanced down to the screen, reading the exchange.

"Whoami… Human?"

Neon nodded in unison with Xenon. "'Human' doesn't register anything in our databases, not even the Home Server."

"Hm... " Orion repeated the phrase, foreign to him. "Human… it doesn't sound like anything I've encountered either."

"Indeed. We can start testing further with your permission my liege."

Orion nodded, moving forwards once more.

"Make it so, and catalogue your findings. Keep me informed of any major discoveries, but coordinate your efforts with Tau on the bridge."

Neon and Xenon saluted, watching Orion pad off. Neon noted that they stood now in the launch bay.

"You're off to the surface, sir?"

Orion stepped forwards to the door of the airlock chamber, a somewhat giddy smile upon his snout.

"That I am. A King has to make his first appearance sometime, doesn't he?"

Xenon nodded, while Neon prodded forwards.

"If I may, sir… any information from the surface might aid us greatly in our endeavors. Update Tau if you happen upon anything?"

Orion thought to himself upon the subject, and ultimately nodded.

"I'll see what I can find."

Xenon and Neon nodded and saluted.

"Aye sir." "We'll await you here."

The two dragon brothers padded off to the halls, making their way back to the bridge. Orion opened the airlock and sealed himself inside. He activated a button on his wrist comm, creating an energy shield around his body, scale tight. Pressing a few buttons along the airlock wall interface, he initiated a manual launch sequence; the corners of the chamber held panels of light that intensified and fed his shield energy, while the air began to bleed out of the pressurized room.

Orion let his breath go, releasing all the air from his body as the energy fed his system all he needed. The clear screen doors in front of him automatically slid open, and he blasted out into the emptiness with his wings propelling him out.

Surrounded by the three moons as the ship's orbit kept itself nearby, the atmosphere (or lack thereof) held a comforting beauty Orion hadn't seen or felt in quite a while. His gaze landed upon the planet, the main continent down below him. Orion reached out in his mind to the planet, searching for his wife.

_Aries, I'm headed down. Shall I find you, dear?_

_**[On the Planet Below...]**_

Hamal and Aries found themselves beside a troubled and overwhelmed Webs, totally unsure of himself and with little idea of how to handle a mountain of dragonets.

"WHY am I the only one left here? Who's idea was this?!"

Hamal briefly input his two cents.

"Yours, I believe."

Aries briefly smacked him with her wing, to which he nearly fell over. Webs didn't notice, fumbling about with all the scrolls in his arms.

"I can't run an entire academy by myself, I'm just the history teacher for moons sake!"

"You're NOT running it by yourself Webs."

Starflight, finding his way around the halls by Webs' panicky voice, trailed behind. His body was illuminated by the window light through the halls, the moons light cutting through the dark night and painting him serene and almost ghostly.

"In case you've forgotten, I'm here too. I'm more than just a blind librarian you know."

Webs nearly jumped out of his scales upon hearing Starflight's voice. As he turned around, his relief was clearly seen by all. Except, y'know… Starflight.

"Starflight… I'm sorry, I thought you were heading out with the others."

"Someone has to keep order here," Starflight passed the trio as he listened to the rooms and the dragonets therein. "And so far it's all going smoothly."

"What do you mean? It was _chaos_ in my class, _chaos_!"

The group paused looking inside the nearby Winglet Cave. Changbai, Fearless and Boto all snoozed soundly, while Starflight smiled to himself.

"Ah yes. Chaos indeed."

Webs nearly crushed a few scrolls in his claws, taking a deep breath to ensure he didn't accidentally rip them.

"Maybe it's just me then…"

Aries nudged Webs by the shoulder comfortingly.

"Relax Webs, the whole mountain is abuzz with everything that's been going on lately. It'll be ok."

Webs drew in another deep breath to calm himself.

"Yes yes, you're right… The fact that the Mudwing Palace burned down doesn't help anything either."

Starflight stopped dead in his tracks, his expression shifting in an instant to that of dread.

"...The Mudwing Palace _what?_"

Webs immediately covered his snout with his talons, letting the scrolls clatter on the floor. Aries nudged Starflight with her wingtip as she sat besides him.

"Starflight… we just learned that Moorhen's Palace caught flames about midday today. No further updates have come our way, sadly… We just know it almost entirely burned down."

Starflight felt his head droop a bit, as if his gaze would have found the floor.

"Any… Any word from Clay?"

Webs shook his head no, and didn't have any heart to speak after. Starflight took the silence as his answer.

"...I see…" Said the blind dragon. "...Queen Aries, is there any way you can…"

"Starflight," Aries wrapped a wing around his back. "I sent one of my personal guards to that location. He'll find out what's going on for us, and hopefully find Clay too… Alright?"

Starflight seemed reassured by the queen's words, albeit obviously still worried sick. The blindfold around his eyes seemed to dampen just a touch.

"Alright… Thank you, so much…"

Hamal looked between the two both curiously and with sentimental eyes.

"This Clay character seems to be rather important to everyone…"

"He's… Definitely important." Starflight and Webs both seemed downtrodden at the prospect of losing their Mudwing family.

"Considering I helped raise him," Webs folded his talons together and looked down in memory. "Clay's heart is as big as this mountain, and I think the whole of Pyrrhia would grieve at his loss."

"...I know we would…" Starflight turned his head aside, as if trying to ward off the thought.

Hamal, noting Aries' quietness, glanced to her briefly. She seemed to be thinking with her eyes closed, as if going through some mental conversation.

"My Queen? Everything okay?"

She held up a talon to Hamal, as if to say "Shh." Another few seconds later, she smiled and turned to Webs and Starflight.

"Well… Since Clay is so important, and the Mudwings have gone through tragedy, I think it only fair we send someone important to meet Clay, and make sure everything is ok."

Aries immediately enraptured both Starflight's and Webs' attention.

"Really?" "Who?"

Aries turned to Hamal and then back with a smile. Hamal swore he could have sensed something else from her… Perhaps a tinge of anxiety. But for now, Aries seemed resolute in her happiness. She declared:

"Clay will be one of the first dragons of Pyrrhia to meet my husband.~"

**-X-**

"I think we've covered all the bases here… unless you can think of something else?"

Thorn and Sunny sat outside in the Queen's Pavilion, overlooking the city and mostly empty streets. Around them sprawled orders and maps of all sorts the two drew up. Sunny picked up a scroll with Vulture's known plans of attack.

"We're sure these are Vulture's last known contacts?"

Thorn nodded, glancing over the list.

"Should be updated, last time my spies brought me any information was a few days ago. I recognize at least twelve of those names too. The only one that doesn't ring a bell, is Venom… Not too sure about that one."

"Venom…" Sunny glossed over the name in her head, unsure if she recognizes the name. "Doesn't ring a bell with me either."

"Regardless," Thorn picked up one more scroll, a centerpiece that the rest of the papers and such connected to. "I dare say we have a plan."

"Alright," Sunny picked up her copy and paced as she read it off. "Smolder and Sixclaws will meet with Onyx and attempt to dissuade her or arrange a truce for a day,"

"Or literally anything else than try and claim true Queenship." Thorn interjected with her head propped in her talons. "If we could stop the drama for a few days, that'd be preferable."

"Right," Sunny continued and added a few more notes. "Just… Stop… The… Drama." She continued looking at the written plan on her paper. "Smolder, have you figured out what you're…"

Sunny and Thorn paused for a second, hearing the faint but definite sound of one snoring Smolder. He leaned onto a table with his head barely propped up in his talons, one of said talons almost in his nose. Thorn and Sunny shot each other a "Seriously?" look, before Sunny whapped him across the side with her tail.

"whOHAH-"

Smolder promptly lost balance as he jerked awake and fell backwards. Thorn let a hearty laugh erupt from her throat, as Sunny, with a contorted snout so as to not laugh, helped the handsome Sandwing back up.

"You okay?~"

Smolder popped back up with a groan as he cradled his head.

"Nnrgh… I'm fine."

Thorn prodded him with her tail gently. "Serves you right for falling asleep on us."

Smolder nodded. "My apologies… What was your question again, Sunny?"

"Do you know what you're going to do and say when you talk to Onyx?"

The former Sandwing Prince found himself unable to answer, sighing to himself.

"I think… I'm just going to talk to her." Smolder's eyes found the faint street lights in the distance. "Just… Father and daughter. Politics and everything else aside, I want her to know I still love her."

"Smolder," Thorn shot Smolder an unsatisfied and slightly concerned look, to which Smolder met her gaze again. "The _goal_ is to make sure a truce is struck, at least for a little. The last time you two talked, it didn't seem at all like she shared the familial sentiment…"

Smolder had considered this, but a certain conviction shone in his eyes about it. Thorn's concern grew a little stronger. "What makes you so sure she'll share that sentiment now?"

"Last time we spoke…" Smolder's gaze found the horizon once more, the dark violets and inky night swirling together as a swath of stars dotted the black. "Something about her seemed more raw, more vulnerable. Her usual calculating persona showed cracks… She yelled at me, which considering her feelings towards me is understandable, but… I don't think she's ever _yelled_ at me."

"You think…" Sunny interjected, also a tinge of concern in her voice. "You think Onyx is starting to slip? Mentally?"

Thorn blew a sigh as she returned to her papers. "I think that already happened a while ago."

"Point is," Smolder sat up a bit straighter. "She's changed. In ways I can't identify exactly, but it's there. I'm confident I can find some way to coax her out of all this, trust me Thorn."

Thorn, admittedly suspicious of his claim but still willing to believe him, nodded reluctantly. "Alright… I'll trust you in that regard. I just hope you know what you're doing, I can't afford to have all of this crash down on me at the last moment."

"I know," Smolder raised a paw to assure her. "I know. I'll do everything I can, _my queen_."

The two seemed to share a playfully tense moment of eye contact carrying entire conversations silently. '_Don't get sarcastic with me.~_' '_Make me.~_'

Sunny's gaze switched back and forth between the two a bit confusedly. "Uhm…"

"Anyways!" Thorn popped back up and looked back to Sunny. "Smolder will handle Onyx, and hopefully get that situation squared away or at least make headway with her."

"That I will." Smolder saluted and laid back down, listening to the Queen and Princess.

"Excellent." Thorn read down her list. "That's Onyx. For Vulture, we've activated our network of undercover spies, they'll give us an idea of where he's at. Based on what happens with that, we'll either mobilize or we'll relax on that front."

"If he does do anything," Sunny chimed back in again. "What can we expect?"

"That," Thorn put down her paper to look at Sunny once more. "Is nigh impossible to tell. Vulture is the most underhanded, craftiest, snake-skinned worm of a dragon I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. He breathes lies and malice, and by all accounts the fact he hasn't attempted to outright kill me makes me wonder if he's got something else planned."

Sunny's concern leapt through her heart into anxiety as Thorn spoke more about this Vulture.

"He's orchestrated at least a dozen bombings of my cities, two of which nearly made it to my palace. He's managed to get his hands on a few of my close officials, injuring two and quite nearly killing another. He's infiltrated my staff with at LEAST two spies, maybe more, considering I still find a few extremely venomous vipers dawdling around my quarters every so often." Thorn nearly found herself up on her talons again and pacing around, listing off her dealings with the ruthless dragon.

"He's burned down at least a quarter of my kingdom over the past few years, he's captured maybe 25 or so of my guards over the same time span, he attempts regular break ins of my guarded treasures, and I'm prETTY SURE-"

Thorn now stood on her talons as she remembered one more thing.

"I'M PRETTY SURE THE CRUSTY OLD SERPENT _STEALS MY LETTERS, TOO._"

"If he's that bad," Sunny found herself besides her mother. "Then why haven't you just… y'know… been done with him yet?"

As up in arms as she might've been, Thorn, hearing that question from Sunny, sat back down and collected herself.

"The ONLY reason… and I mean **THE **_**O N L Y**_ reason… is because of Qibli. As much as he hates his grandfather… he couldn't bring himself to kill him. He's actually pleaded with me to do anything and everything BUT end his life. And… For QIBLI to say that about HIM… it makes me proud of him."

Sunny felt a smile across her snout as Thorn followed suit. "Also makes me question his priorities a little bit, but it still makes me proud of his compassion."

"Excuse me my queen?"

The three heads whirled around to see a Sandwing snout peeking into Thorn's Royal Chambers. Thorn sat up again.

"What is it, Ember?"

Ember, a spritely young Sandwing female, brought in a tray with tea and cups with a semi nervous expression. "The kitchen has brought your nightly tea, I wasn't sure if you were okay with me interrupting."

Thorn and Sunny both offer a gracious smile while she sets it down on the nearby table.

"That's quite alright, thank you. We'll be fine for the rest of the night."

Ember bows with a relieved smile and exits again, leaving the three by themselves.

"Well…" Sunny nosed Thorn's shoulder with a reassuring smile again. "Maybe Vulture's getting too old for this now. You did say he's been slowing down lately, right?"

"That I did. Either that or wishful thinking has gotten the best of me, but you're right beetle.~"

"Slow _and _sloppy." Smolder piped up while he nosed up to the tray of tea. "Last few attempts we were able to stop quickly, thankfully. I think we'll be seeing the last of him sooner rather than later."

Sunny and Thorn seemed quite comforted by Smolder's addition, seeing as she lifted the cup and pot of tea up with a contented smirk. "Here's hoping. And if he decides to be docile during all of this, all I need do is make sure I'm prepared for the meeting that's coming up."

Sunny repositioned herself besides Thorn and rubbed her cheek to her mother's side affectionately. "And _I_ can help with that for sure.~"

Thorn set the pot back down, instead hugging her daughter tightly. "Mmmh… thank you for your assistance in all this Sunny, it greatly eases my mind. You have no idea…"

Sunny basked in the hug and her mother's praise, quite the content dragon at that moment. Smolder found himself going to pour the tea instead.

"She really does mean that Sunny, I haven't seen her this relaxed in perhaps a few months!"

Smolder tilted the pot to the cup, where… nothing came out. He tilted it more, but still nothing. Sunny and Thorn hadn't noticed.

"I know you're busy with everything at the academy, and I applaud you for your work as a teacher, Sunny." Thorn nosed her snout atop Sunny's head. "I do wish you'd visit more often…"

"Awe mom…" Sunny poked her nose back to her snout and planted a kiss on her cheek. "If you want me to visit more often, how could I say no?"

"Well," Thorn chuckled a giggly and happy chuckle, planting a kiss back in response. "It's dangerous here, after all. Wouldn't want my beetle getting hurt."

"Mom, I'm not a dragonet anymore! I can handle danger!"

"Uhm… guys?"

Smolder's confused and otherwise quizzical intonation attracted the two royal's attention rather quickly. He set the pot down, stepping back.

"I think there's something wrong with the tea."

Thorn sighed and padded forwards. "Too watery again, not hot enough?"

Smolder shook his head. "That's not tea."

Before Thorn could ask another question, the pot wobbled in place, as if pushed around by an invisible force. She and Sunny drew forwards curiously, Thorn nearly found her snout atop it as the pot lid burst open.

Smolder was right in saying this was not tea. What lay inside instead was something else entirely. As it poked its head out with a nasty temper, Thorn and Sunny found themselves face to face with a _Dragonbite Viper_.

**-X-**

"What do you mean he isn't here?"

Sanctuary usually bustled and brimmed with life, so it was no surprise to see the sprawling town bigger than before with twice as many dragons too, even in the dead of night. Variety in architecture, dragon size, tribe and stature, with almost every kind of Hybrid you could imagine; not to mention the presence of the Talons of Peace in every corner of the towns halls and buildings, creating a much appreciated feeling of safety.

Moon and Qibli quickly found their way to the Talons' headquarters, being welcomed warmly. Having been a number of years since they'd visited the Talons of Peace, they hadn't exactly been keeping up with their advances and growth. Moon and Qibli found themselves in the midst of the Talons, talking to the nearest guard who led them to the main dragon on site, a disheveled and tired looking Skywing.

"Riptide left a few days ago to the Sea Kingdom, claiming he needed to fix something. He didn't say how long he'd be gone, only that he wouldn't return," This next part the Skywing used air quotations. "Until "I've made things right again". Don't ask me what that means."

Qibli scratched his head. "Huh… alright."

Moon, dissatisfied with that answer, prodded in the Skywing's head a bit to find out what she could.

'Why did Riptide have to leave on such short notice? Doesn't he know my job is stressful enough as it is? I can't lead an entire organization, I'm barely able to handle daily operations as it is! Why are these two dragons asking so many questions though, can't they annoy somebody else?'

"Well perhaps you can help us? We're just looking for an Icewing." Qibli interrupted Moon's mindreading, thankfully for her. The Skywing's brow arched a bit.

"An Icewing huh?" He stroked his chin and nodded. "I can probably do that. We don't get a lot of Icewings here nowadays."

"His name is Winter," Moon found her words again, suddenly not having the best attitude or liking of this certain huffy dragon. "Last time I talked to him he was stationed in Sanctuary."

"Winter…" The name didn't resonate with the Skywing, furrowing his brow some more as he rattled his brain. "Winter, Winter, Winter… It doesn't ring a bell, but then again I see around 20 dragons a day."

He turned around and shouted across the small courtyard to a Skywing looking at paperwork atop the roof.

"HEY WARBLER!"

Warbler the Skywing in question, stood and shouted back.

"YEAH?"

"YOU RECOGNIZE THE NAME WINTER? HE'S AN ICEWING!"

"WINTER?" The Skywing stopped for a second and thought to himself. "WASN'T HE THAT DRAGON WHO TALKED ABOUT NOTHING BUT SCAVENGERS 24/7?"

"Oh THAT GUY?!"

"YEAH HIM!"

Moon prodded up to the head Skywing again. "Yeah, that guy. Now it rings a bell?"

The Skywing rubbed the back of his head a little, sheepishly it seemed. "Yeah, a bit. I remember him from a while ago, but he's been gone for… years it feels like."

Qibli prodded back into the conversation. "Wait… years?"

Moon shared Qibli's confusion. "No no no, he's been here at least last year, he couldn't have just left."

The Skywing's expression shifted again, as if he remembered more and more now.

"Winter… Snarky, a bit rude, comes off as kind of a jerk sometimes?"

Moon and Qibli nodded. "Sadly." "Yeah…"

"Thought so." The Skywing led them off towards the main building. "If I recall correctly… Winter began rubbing everyone the wrong way with his talking about Scavengers and such. Eventually it got to a point where he and a small group of four or so dragons got together, asked Riptide for a bit of funding for a small project on Scavenger conservation (which was denied), and the group left the Talons of Peace, and subsequently Sanctuary."

The trio found themselves inside as the Skywing made his way to his office. Moon and Qibli found their enthusiasm and faith falling bit by bit.

"I don't know where they went precisely, but I know for a fact they relocated near the Diamond Spray region, between the delta and the rivers. It's a heavily forested area, and sometimes we get complaints that a group of dragons are threatening passerbys. If he's anywhere, I'd start looking there."

Qibli found himself glancing concernedly to Moon, who would only look down in worry. He looked back to the Skywing.

"That sounds like all the information we need. Thank you, your name was?"

The Skywing padded into his office. "Wren, names Wren. Good luck to you two, hope you find him." With that, he stalked inside his office and picked up a pile of papers once more. Moon simply walked off, leaving Qibli to follow behind.

"Moon, talk to me here."

"Let's just find Winter," Moon's voice and intonation could only be described as hurt. "The sooner the better."

As she padded off into the scattered streets of Sanctuary, her talons stepped quicker and quicker leaving Qibli to scramble and catch up.

"Moon, just… hang on. Wait up a minute."

Qibli had to grab her wing and slow her down, bringing her face to face. Moon couldn't well hide the expression on her face, malcontent with worry and what seemed to be anger.

"...What is it Qibli."

The Sandwing opened his maw to speak, but another idea that struck him at the same time prevailed as he closed it once more. Qibli tapped his head, signaling for Moon to simply look inside his head. Moon, hesitantly, peeked inside. Qibli spoke directly through his thoughts, not letting them dawdle around.

'Listen, you don't have to respond to any of this, I just want you to hear me.'

Moon plopped herself down on her hind and let her gaze fall on Qibli's dark brown eyes.

'We're gonna find him, and things are going to work out, I promise you that… '

Qibli found himself holding Moon's talons in his own, keeping eye contact all the while.

'I know what he said about Winter sounds all kinds of screwy and unsavory, but he doesn't know him like you do. Like I do. We're still going to find him, and things will be ok.'

Moon found her gaze falling a bit to the ground, Qibli now pressing his head to Moon's.

'We can keep moving, or we can sleep until tomorrow and search in the morning. Sanctuary has plenty of resting places, it's up to you. Where you go, I'll follow.'

Moon found her snout being nudged up by the Sandwing, meeting his eyes once more. She nodded before speaking once more.

"You're right… let's get some sleep for now… you wanna find us something?"

Qibli felt his smile reach further than it had in a long while, quite sure it had reached up the side of his horns by now. He nodded in return, nosing her cheek and leading her down the street.

"Of course. Any um… preference?"

"Preference?" Moon seemed confused at the statement. "It's just a campsite for tonight, not much decision making behind that, right?"

"Campsite…" Qibli motioned towards the buildings lining the streets. "Or somewhere more comfortable?"

Moon's expression wasn't sure how to shift from there… her eyes conveyed curiosity, her flush cheeks denoted her blushy thoughts, her maw curled almost into a smile but not quite enough. "Comfortable?"

"Yeah," Qibli nosed back to the buildings. "Some dragons around here are running a business where visitors can stay in furnished rooms for a night or two." From the way Qibli spoke, and his equally flushy snout, Moon didn't need to read his mind to determine how he felt.

"If you'd like we can do that instead of camping out."

From the way the night hung the moons overhead, the lamp posts with their flickering flames providing ambient light, Qibli stood illuminated by the multiple light sources; warm and filtered moonlight scattered from above to light his body and head, the dancing flames in the posts painting the side of this face and neck dynamically. Moon found herself a bit hypnotized just looking at him.

"Well… what do you think?"

The Nightwing couldn't find her words for a good few seconds, before she felt Qibli's talons squeeze just a bit. She smiled to herself a bit more, following him.

"I think… I love that idea.~"

Qibli led Moon side by side to the nearest building, Qibli wrapping a wing around her back. The two headed inside, neither of them mentioning their feelings about the situation and with no need. Perhaps a night back together was what they needed… it's certainly what they wanted.

**-X-**

The Deep Palace, at night, could only be described as heavenly. The darkness of the night time waters seemed to emulate the coldness and vastness of the heavens while the Palace itself shone with bioluminescence all around it. It stood immaculate and divine, only a few dragons on guard and fewer others swimming here and there. From a ways away, the trio of royal siblings made their way to the base of the Palace. The guards and passersby could see furious flashing going on, albeit unable to make out quite what the three were going on about.

As the three drew closer to the entrance, meeting the two guards side by side, she shot dirty looks at Turtle and Anemone respectively. Upon turning back, the guards were knelt in the water to the three. The two flashed in synchrony in Aquatic.

G1 & G2: (Welcome Home, Princess.)

Tsunami offered a polite and warm smile in return.

Ts: (Thank you, good to be home.)

G1: (What brings you back, my liege?)

Tsunami paused for a second, thinking to herself.

Ts: (Important news for my mother. Do you know where she is?)

G2: (She's probably asleep right now.)

G1: (I'd check her quarters first. She'll be quite happy to see you all.)

G2: (That,) His snout suddenly held a smile bright enough to illuminate the surrounding waters. (And Princess Auklet is going to be nothing but smiles.)

The trio or royals found the guard's smile to be contagious, also looking forward to seeing the little one.

Ts: (Then we'll see if she's still awake.)

The guards let the two inside, the first few levels seeming mostly empty. Only a few stragglers found their way around, and a few of those stood and stared at the group of royals. Turtle and Anemone found themselves waving back, while Tsunami kept on ahead to the lower levels where the important officials were housed.

Turtle prodded besides Tsunami, diving down with the bioluminescence bringing just enough light to the tunnels.

T: (You think we oughta wait tonight, if she's asleep? It's getting kinda late as well.)

Ts: (We were only LATE because you two thought you knew the tunnels and currents better than me!)

Anemone prodded in front of them and nearly smacked her sister's snout with her tail.

A: (You were about to tell us to swim down volcanic chutes, telling us it was a shortcut!)

Ts: (And they were!)

T: (The next shortcut you told us to take brought us in the _opposite_ direction.)

Tsunami bristled about, almost as if she were going to chew out her siblings.

Ts: (If we weren't underwater right now…)

A: (Let's just find mom and see if she's awake! We can bicker about this at a later date, yes?)

Tsunami pushed her two siblings along the tunnel as it opened up into a near fully encapsulated lower level, grand yet naturalized and equally bioluminescent. A few hallways lay as offshoots from the chamber, one at the very end more intricately decorated with coral and a few blue gemstones. The gang swam down the corridor seeing another few offshoot rooms, the one at the very end guarded by a single familiar guard.

Ts: (Hey! Flounder, is that you?)

Flounder, the guard from when Tsunami and company were trapped in the Summer Palace, stood up straighter upon seeing the trio.

F: (Tsunami? Turtle, Anemone, what are you three doing here?)

Anemone waved from behind Tsunami at him.

A: (We need to talk to Coral. Is she awake?)

Flounder nodded.

F: (That she is. Do you need her right now?)

Turtle found himself beside Tsunami as well.

T: (We have news for her, something time sensitive as well.)

F: (Important too, I'm assuming?)

The group nodded in synchrony.

Ts: (Quite.)

A: (You could say that.)

T: (They are REALLY underselling it, actually.)

Tsunami's tail thwapped Turtle's side, who promptly shut up.

F: (Well…) Flounder seemed a tad confused by the trio's family dynamic. (She isn't here. She and Auklet like to peruse the Bubble Jet Gardens at night. You should find them there.)

Anemone shot up thinking about it, immediately looking excitedly to the others. Turtle and Tsunami nodded in unison.

Ts: (We'll head there then. Thank you Flounder.)

With that, the trio swam back through the tunnels, one of them quite a bit eagerly than the rest.

_**[In the Bubble Jet Gardens…]  
**_  
There wasn't a single moment where Coral found herself tiring of Auklet's childlike playfulness, the little one's energy and enthusiasm ever refreshing. She bounded between jets, the towering spires of bubbles almost like a forest as the long strands of kelp nearly became a canopy atop the peaceful scene.

The dragonet planted herself by the jet, snapping at the bubbles now lazily, having been doing this for a good hour now. Coral sat by her dragonet, nosing her side.

C: (Auklet, it's time for bed now little one.)

Auklet flopped over on her side, pawing at the queen's royal snout.

Au: (Mooom… a few more minutes?)

The little one yawned a tired and contented yawn, while Coral sat her up on her feet again.

C: (Not tonight little one, you need to get your sleep.)

Auklet found herself on her feet, sitting up and staring at her mother with soulful eyes.

Au: (Please?)

Coral found her gaze tied to the little one's face, profound affection radiating from her every scale. The more she looked at her, Coral couldn't put another face away from her mind. Auklet's sea green scales brought to mind the former king, Coral's precious Gill. A wave of lost guilt washed over her for a moment, and Auklet couldn't help but notice.

Au: (Mom… are you ok…?)

Coral wiped her eyes a bit and nodded.

C: (It's nothing darling… let's…)

She stopped short of her sentence, seeing an approaching flashing light from a distance. Coral instinctively curled around Auklet as the dragon sized light source flashed closer. After the source drew close enough to distinguish the individual dragons, Coral took note of three shapes flashing somewhat furiously.

Au: (Mom, is that…?)

Just as Anemone bounded into sight still arguing with Tsunami, the minute she turned around her attention landed on her littlest sister. Auklet and her met eyes instantly, and the two throttled each other, flashing so fast neither of them could keep up.

Turtle and Tsunami made their way over next, nearly crashing into Coral who hugged them warmly. Coral squeezed the two with joy, as Anemone and Auklet started chasing each other through the bubble jets.

C: (Tsunami! Turtle! Oh, my precious little ones, you have no idea how glad I am to see you!)

T: (It's great to see you too mother!)

Ts: (How've you and Auklet been doing?)

Coral, Tsunami and Turtle turned to the young Auklet and Anemone, side by side in a bubble snapping competition.

C: (We've both been quite well, Auklet is getting big rather quickly!)

She then turned to the Prince and Princess in her arms.

C: (What are you two doing here?)

Tsunami planted herself in front of Coral, getting giddy at remembering why she came all the way down here.

Ts: (Because… we have news for you. Something _big_.)

Coral felt herself sitting up a bit straighter, concern building up in her mind.

C: (Good news or Bad news?)

Turtle nosed Coral's arm as he smiled widely.

T: (Good. Very good. The best and most unbelievable kind.)

Ts: (Seriously, this is really important, and you'll want to hear it and clear anything else coming up the next few days.)

Anemone and Auklet swam back to the other three, Auklet hugging up to Tsunami and Anemone to Coral.

Au: (Tsunami! Turtle! You're both here!)

A: (Missed you mom!)

Coral couldn't nearly wrap her wings around all of her children, just nuzzling into the four lovingly. The four royal dragons and dragonets nosed into their mother happily, returning the favor.

C: (I do believe this is the most family I've had in my arms in quite some time… we'll retire to the palace, but… may I have you all in my arms for a little longer?)

The four nodded happily, Auklet piling atop the other three mischievously. Auklet nosed her mother, flashing the scales on her snout  
Au: (Love.)

Tsunami, Turtle and Anemone seemed to smile all at once seeing their littlest sister being adorable. The trio then turned back to Coral, landing their snouts all together and doing the same.

T: (Love.)

A: (Love!)

Ts: (Love.)

Had they not been underwater, Coral would've let out a happy squeal as she held them ever tighter. She rested her eyes closed and flashed her snout scales in return.

C: (Love. All my Love.)

For the five dragons, it would be a little while before they even remembered they had other things to do. In the meantime, they enjoyed the snuggles and rested contentedly.

_**[Back in the Royal Quarters…]**_

Coral and Anemone had laid Auklet to sleep in the Queen's chamber, soon meeting the others in the Royal Meeting Room.

C: (She's asleep, and judging by her smile I think she'll stay that way for a while.)

Tsunami and Turtle motioned for Coral and Anemone to join them at the small circle. Coral settled between Turtle and Tsunami, while Tsunami set down her hologram device in the middle of the space.

Ts: (Mom… do you happen to remember that meeting with Queen Ruby a few months ago?)

Coral inspected the strange device a bit, flashing back at Tsunami all the while.

C: (I do. We settled a few border disputes, had some lovely tea, and I recall Ruby eating bad fish which caused our meeting to be called early.)

Ts: (What?) Tsunami's snout scrunched in confusion. (Wait no, not that meeting.)

C: (Not that one?)

Ts: (No, earlier than that. Ruby had an interesting guest over, remember?)

Coral landed her attention back to Tsunami after looking over the device.

C: (Yes! That fascinating little rainbow dragon, what was his name? Star something?)

T: (Stardust. You recall how he looked much different than any other dragon on Pyrrhia?)

C: (That I do. If I also recall, you never found out where he was from.)

Ts: (That…) Tsunami announced dramatically, placing a paw on the device. (Has changed.)

Coral's expression shifted to curious confusion, and as her gaze fell upon the mystery device that became silent wonder.

C: (You've come across more of his kind…?)

A: (Actually, they found us.)

T: (More specifically, they found Stardust. They just met us as they came to Pyrrhia.)

Coral had to stop the two of them as she flashed a question response.

C: (Hold on a minute, they came to Pyrrhia? From _where?_)

The trio of siblings looked at each other for a moment, before collectively they all pointed up. A rather large glass ceiling allowed them to look up at the ocean above them, a distorted view of the night sky and two moons in view. Coral nearly choked for a second.

C: (From…_ from above?_)

Turtle looked to Anemone.

T: (Anemone, what did you call them again?)

Anemone smiled to herself and spread her wings fully, lighting up the underside of her wings and a stripe across her snout. The combination of lit scales meant something to the equivalent of "Star Dwellers", and "Heaven Dragons". Anemone corrected herself after.

A: (Aquatic doesn't have a direct word for it, so I made that up. They call themselves the Star Wings.) She flashed the two words separately, feeling a bit proud of herself.

Coral found her maw agape, looking back and forth between the trio who nodded in confirmation.

Ts: (They're a tribe of dragons that live among the stars, and they are the most _beautiful_ species I've seen in my entire life!)

A: (I hate to say it, but they're way prettier than anything I've ever seen.)

T: (More importantly,) Turtle prodded Anemone softly. (They're a peaceful and diplomatic tribe, and their level of technology is more sophisticated than anything on Pyrrhia.)

The Seawing Queen finally closed her agape jaw, her gaze flickering around the room as if conversing mentally with herself. A second or two later her gaze fell back upon the mystery device.

C: (Then…) She prodded the black device on the floor. (This must be from them?) Coral's gaze again flickered between her three progeny with glittering wonder, that usual sparkle in her eye when having found something fascinating. (A gift? A demonstration of sorts?)

Ts: (A message, actually,) Tsunami centered the device to the center of the circle. (From the Starwing Queen herself. An invitation.)

Tsunami believed Coral couldn't've perked up or glowered with excitement anymore than she had already, however the ever excitable Seawing Queen seemed as giddy and springy as a dragonet given a new toy.

C: (WELL? What are we waiting for! Go ahead, let's see it!)

Tsunami quickly exchanged glances with her other two siblings, who returned said glances with nods of confirmation. Tsunami placed her first digit of her forepaw to the side of the device, and immediately springing to life was the spitting image of Queen Aries. The water scattered the light just a bit, creating a blurred image that refracted beams of light all around and gave the illusion of heavenly radiance. Her forme still retained its shape and detail, the colors fading and washing through ever so slightly to create a much more saturated picture.

Coral immediately thrusted herself backwards, startled beyond words and caught off guard by the sudden appearance. Tsunami and Anemone reassured her through contact that all was well, leaving Coral to gaze at the image with utter fascination and awe.

However, once the hologram projector attempted to produce sound… all that was heard resembled garbled speech, frequency scrambled and blurred out into vague, muffled mumbling. Anemone tilted her head in curiosity, Tsunami upon realizing what's happening nearly tore into the ground with her talons clenching. Turtle just looked all shades of confused along with Coral.

C: (Um…) She prowled around the holographic image, inspecting it up and down along with the device. Her expression conveyed exactly how thoroughly awed albeit confused she was. (Am I to assume it's supposed to sound like talking?)

Ts: (Yes.) Tsunami nearly tossed the device aside as she disabled it and picked it up. (Yes it is.)

A: (A bit of an oversight, not working in water…)

C: (Ah, I see…) Coral glanced between Turtle and Anemone. (If it's dry land we need, I know just the place. We have an island nearby designated for intertribal meetings, it's the closest place around here.)

T: (That sounds like a good place to go.) A brief yawn interrupted Turtle's train of thought, as he stretched out a bit. (Think we can head there in the morning?)

C: (Oh no,) Coral shook her head. (I MUST hear this out tonight. I shan't sleep a wink if I don't, and it's but 15 minutes away.)

Ts: (Alright, take us there then!)

Coral hesitated for a moment, looking to the room where Auklet slept peacefully. Turtle prodded up to his mother and held her talons in his own.

T: (If it makes you feel better, I can stay behind and watch Auklet until you all get back.)

C: (That…) Coral hesitated to say anything else, instead wrapping a wing around Turtle. (...That sounds great. We shouldn't be too long.)

Turtle nodded, quietly prowling to the Queen's Chambers. He flashed back to the other three:

T: (Be safe, I'll be here when you guys get back.)

Coral, Tsunami and Anemone filtered their way out, going through a few hallways with Anemone excitedly flashing to herself. Tsunami got a kick out of seeing her younger sister ever excitable, Coral smiling proudly to herself as well. As Coral headed through another cross of hallways, she stopped for a brief moment and looked to Tsunami.

C: (Tsunami, there's also something I would like you to handle...)

Tsunami found herself front and center.

Ts: (What do you mean?)

Coral nodded down the hall to the left, getting a bit darker with orange light illuminating down further.

C: (There's someone waiting for you in the prison block, you'll want to see them.)

Tsunami tensed up a bit harder than she'd have liked, unsure of how to feel about this.

Ts: (Ooookay… Can… this wait until more important things are taken care of first?)

C: (Anemone can guide me to the island, we'll be fine. Won't we?)

Anemone initially didn't know how to respond, but seeing the hopeful expression of Coral and almost expectant look of Tsunami's snout, she compliantly nodded.

A: (I'll keep her safe, don't worry.)

Ts: (Ok… I'll meet you along with Turtle and Auklet, alright?)

C: (Of course. We'll see you in a little while.)

Tsunami nodded once more, heading down the halls and following the orange light leading her to the prison block. Coral and Anemone headed up the corridor spiraling up to the surface, leaving the two alone as they ventured out the palace.

A: (Mother?)

C: (Yes dear?)

Anemone glanced back at the palace, wondering as to what Coral had needed Tsunami to do.

A: (Who's waiting for Tsunami, and why would they be in the prison block…?)

Coral's maw ever so gently contorted into a frown, looking ahead and sighing to herself.

C: (A traitor who I thought I'd never see in my kingdom again.)

The twisting halls of the Palace Prison Block and deep set coral lights painted a darker more grim atmosphere in the watery depths, a few scattered guards milling around in the relatively empty hall. The arrival of Princess Tsunami nearly frightened the guards out of their scales as they stood at attention immediately.

G1: (PRINCESS!)

G2: (M-my liege!)

Tsunami set them at ease, nodding with a polite smile.

Ts: (Greetings. My mother told me there's someone I needed to meet here?)

The two guards, one a deep and dark green with a few splotches of washed out blue, the other a pastel shade of deep blue, glanced to each other and then back to Tsunami.

G1: (You mean the traitor?)

Tsunami stopped in place, the word "Traitor" bouncing around hoping to register on a name or a dragon.

Ts: (The… traitor?)

The guards again shared glances between the two of them, now more nervous and slightly terrified.

G2: (We assumed Queen Coral would have told you…)

Ts: (She was vague, like usual. She told me someone wanted to see me, and she wanted me to handle something.) She crossed her arms, also arching an eyebrow at the two. (Need I rough someone up, get information? If they're a traitor then-)

G1: (Oh no no no, it's not that. In fact he's been quite agreeable.)

G2: (It's more… personal. I don't know why she wouldn't have told… you...)

The Seawing Princess squinted again at the two, surely frustrated by the fact no one had told her directly what was going on.

Ts: (Well… is this dragon particularly important or dangerous? Are they demanding to see me? Or are… they…)

Right before she dared ask another question, the idea and realization dawning on her slammed into her mind and derailed everything. Her expression steeled and sharpened into determined anger and that signature royal authority.

Ts: (...Take me to him, _NOW_.)

The guards winced a bit and nodded, leading her to the back most cell in the hall. The bars enclosing the cell shimmered with heat, superheating the water an inch or so around it. The trio of Seawings approached the cell, as Tsunami peered in and confirmed her suspicion. Lying asleep in the corner was _one tired looking Riptide_.

Tsunami nearly throttled the bars, had it not been for the fact those bars could sear through her scales and flesh. She turned to the guards with a quiet yet definite rage.

Ts: (Open this cell, **NOW**.)

Again, the guards shifted uncomfortably as they were given this order.

G2: (Princess, we mean no disrespect, but…)

G1: (We were given strict orders by Queen Coral not to open the cell without her explicit permissio-)

Tsunami, in no mood for games or arguing, grabbed hold of the two by their necks (which for Tsunami was no small task, seeing as the two guards weren't small at all), and pinned them at the wall as that quiet rage seethed into flaming anger.

Ts: (My mother isn't HERE right now, I AM. And disobeying a direct order from ME is TREASON, of WHICH I CAN _ACCUSE _YOU OF RIGHT NOW AND HAVE YOU **ROTTING **IN ONE OF THESE CELLS.)

The two guards, struggling and grasping onto Tsunami's arms in sheer terror, choked and kicked as they were held against the wall.

G1: (N-NO!)

G2: (WE WOULD NEVER-)

Ts: (THEN OPEN THAT CELL _THIS __**INSTANT!**_)

Tsunami then released her grip of the two guards, nearly tossing them down as they now groveled in submission, as she growled along with the aquatic command she nearly barked out with her voice.

Ts: (**N O W.**)

The two guards immediately made their way to the opposite wall, where a row of barnacle encrusted levers sat idle. The two heaved the last lever down, forcing the bars up. Tsunami nodded at the two, remembering her royal grace and calming down some.

Ts: (Thank you.)

She nearly catapulted into the cell, but not before turning to the guards once more.

Ts: (...I apologize for my anger, I'll make sure my mother doesn't punish you for your actions here.)

The two guards nodded with relieved smiles, still a bit terrified.

G1: (Our apologies as well, your highness.)

G2: (Thank you, your grace. That's very kind of you.)

G1: (We'll stand by.)

Ts: (Thank you, make sure we aren't disturbed please.)

With that, Tsunami gingerly swam up to the resting Riptide, lovingly brushing up his snout with her own.

Ts: (Hey…)

Riptide awakened a bit suddenly, as if waking from a bad dream. He blinked the sleep away a few times as he sat up, coming snout to snout with Tsunami to his delight.

R: (Tsunami!) The Seawing couple squeezed each other tight, Riptide planting a tender and yearning kiss upon Tsunami's maw, which she returned with a wide and pearly smile. (You have no idea how happy I am to see you here…)

Ts: (Me too…) Tsunami's smile faded back into worry. (But… What _are _you doing here? Why aren't you with the Talons of Peace?)

At her question, Riptide hesitated and let his gaze fall to the floor. Tsunami was not exactly soothed by his increasingly guilty expression.

R: (I refused to let my family name be tarnished any longer, Tsunami. I came to plead with Queen Coral, and I said I'd do whatever needed to be done to let me and my father come back.)

Tsunami's paws found their way to Riptide's snout, side by side as she guided his eyes back to her own.

Ts: (Riptide… we talked about this… Your past doesn't define who you are.)

Riptide found his paws around Tsunami's, squeezing them tenderly with a hint of determination in his eyes.

R: (Then what's stopping me from changing this?) He pushed his snout to Tsunami's and met her gaze with an almost wistful look. (I'm tired of being an outcast of my own tribe. Even Seawing dragons outside the Seawing Kingdom give me dirty glances once they hear my name…)

Ts: (Riptide-)

R: (And DON'T even get my started on my father!) The Seawing tore away to pace around the cell. (When Coral came to talk to me, she nearly tore my scales off when I mentioned him!)

Ts: (Considering he stole _me _as an _egg_, I think she reserves the right to at least bear a grudge against him…)

R: (That was nearly ten years ago by now! I can understand mistrust, and that's what I want to fix, but-)

Ts: (Riptide, stop.) Tsunami halted the Seawing in place and placed herself squarely in front of him. (I understand what you're trying to do here, and you know that I empathize and want to help, but this…) She gestured to all around them, namely being in a cell, and turned back to him. (...This is like… trying to catch a fish by slamming your head into a wall. _Believe me, it doesn't work_.)

R: (What else am I supposed to _do_?!)

Ts: (I mean,) She shrugged to herself. (Coming over here and being put in a cell doesn't seem like the optimal choice.)

Riptide lifted a talon in retaliation, only to lower it and sigh.

R: (Granted. But I don't think she's been getting my letters and requesting a meeting otherwise wasn't going to happen. What other options did I have?)

Ts: (How about,) Tsunami held Riptide's paw in her own now. (Contacting me…?)

R: (I…) Again, Riptide sighed and let his forehead press against Tsunami's head. (...Tsunami I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I want to do this myself…)

Tsunami found herself backpedaling a few steps, eyeing Riptide with a somewhat indignant expression.

Ts: (...Yourself…)

Riptide stopped himself, pawing forwards to Tsunami.

R: (Ok, that… that came out wrong. I just want your mother to see that I'm not a traitorous liar and _prove _it by my _own _actions and volition, not just because you convinced her to like me again.)

Ts: (That's…) Admittedly that's exactly what Tsunami was going to do once she consulted her mother, but seeing as Riptide made his point succinctly she let that go. (...Alright… I get what you mean.)

R: (Thank you…)

Tsunami brushed back against Riptide's side, settling him down on the floor along with her.

Ts: (That being said… It might be easier if you let me at least help.)

R: (Tsunami-)

Ts: (Coral sent me here to talk to you, Riptide. She at least wants to see this sorted out…)

R: (I mean… Yeah…)

Ts: (I'll try to let you do this your way, but can you promise me one thing?)

Riptide rubbed his snout along Tsunami's, who promptly returned the favor.

R: (Of course.)

Ts: (Promise me you won't try and… galavant off to try and fix this anymore than you already have?)

Riptide nosed Tsunami's forehead and smiled to himself.

R: (I promise… even though that's exactly what I'm good at.~)

The two laid on their sides, smiling as they pressed nose to nose.

Ts: (That you are, Squid Brain.~)

R: (Squid Brain.~)

Tsunami let another smile domineer her snout, as she pushed forwards to kiss her Seawing lover once more. Riptide pressed back for a moment, then pulled away.

R: (Hey… thank you for coming to see me… It means the world to me, Tsunami.)

Ts: (Of course Riptide.) She nosed into Riptide's side happily, finding comfort in his body as she snuggled in. (You… You don't know just how much I missed you…)

R: (Nor I you… But…) He nudged her side concernedly. (Doesn't Coral want you back tonight…?)

Tsunami sat up at the notion, remembering the reason she was IN the palace in the first place. She wondered how the others were faring at this time in the night, but found her thoughts melting away upon meeting Riptide's deep blue eyes. Riptide met her sweet gaze, and he could've sworn he discerned an idea cultivating in her mind's eye.

The Seawing Princess sat up once more, garnering the attention of the guards.

Ts: (Hey, I need to ask one more thing.)

The two stood at attention once more.

G1: (Yes Ma'am?)

G2: (How can we help?)

Tsunami wrapped her tail around the end of Riptide's tail slowly but firmly.

Ts: (Lock the door, leave me with him for tonight.)

The two guards exchanged confused and heavily concerned looks between each other, about to object before recognizing that same anger in Tsunami once more. They shut their maws and bowed a bit.

G1: (As… As you wish princess.)

G2: (What should we tell your mother?)

Ts: (Tell her to take it up with me tomorrow, tonight… I don't want to be bothered. Are we clear?)

The guards, unsure of what to think, merely obeyed her orders and closed the cell doors before bowing again and taking up their usual positions again. Riptide stood maw agape looking at Tsunami.

R: (What… what will your mother think?)

Ts: (Mother can say what she wants.) Tsunami held Riptide's talons once more. (Besides… It's high time she knew about us anyways.)

Riptide guided her down to the floor once more, laying down as she cozied up to him.

R: (I thought she already did…?)

Ts: (She knows we're _close_, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't know we're together.)

R: (Well…) Riptide nosed Tsunami's cheek once more. (Soon she will.)

Ts: (It'll be alright… you'll see.)

R: (Yeah…) He planted one more kiss on her maw, which lasted but a moment. (Love.)

Tsunami stopped in time for a moment, her face ever so slightly flush, and pressed back into that kiss with a returning passion. Riptide could do naught but kiss back with the same tender love, and gently the two laid down snout to snout with faint smiles adorning their ever satisfied expressions.

Ts: (Love…)

R: (Love… Good night.)

Ts: (Good night…)

And with that, the two snuggled in rather fiercely… something the two had missed dearly. Tonight they wouldn't dare miss it again, as they were practically wrapped up in nothing but each other. And for tonight, they were nothing but happy.

**_[On the Nearby Island...]_**

"_Again, thank you so much for your time, Queen Coral._"

The temperate and breezy night caressed Coral and Anemone, the starlight and glittering rays from the three half moons bathed the small sandy island in faint radiance. The hologram's light added to the serene nighttime atmosphere, the two Seawings sitting side by side comfortably.

"_I hope to meet soon, Aries out._"

As the hologram dissipated into nothingness, Coral found herself pacing the sands with fervent glee and excitement.

"This… This is… Anemone do you realize what this means?"

"That our entire way of life is about to be irrevocably changed, and you get to be directly involved in it?"

Coral nearly leapt into the air circling back to grasp Anemone's shoulders.

"Yes! Anemone, have you any idea of the implications of this?"

"I mean I-"

Anemone hadn't any time to respond before Coral turned back around to pace the sands some more.

"Imagine! The knowledge they possess, the absolute wonders they could show us! Eons of living among the stars and galaxies…" Had Anemone not known her mother better, she could have sworn she was close to swooning and fainting.

"It's… it's almost unbelievable…"

As Coral's gaze landed on the sand with her wild imagination, Anemone really did think that she was close to fainting. She padded closed to sidle beside the Seawing Queen.

"I know, right?" Anemone nosed her mother's chin with a smile. "So, you're going to the meeting, yes?"

"Of course I am!" Coral held her daughter in her arms happily. "I wouldn't miss it for all the scrolls in the seas!"

"Awesome!" Anemone nearly galloped around with her mother, who stopped for a second and held Anemone in place again.

"She _did _mention I could have a dragon with me as an entourage. And I will need someone familiar there." Coral wrapped a wing around Anemone with a smile, in her familiar motherly protectiveness.

Anemone knew exactly what her mother was insinuating, and she… didn't exactly like it. It was one thing to be present at the meeting between leaders at a peace summit, which honestly excited the Seawing Princess to the tip of her tail. What didn't sound so pleasant was being next to mother the entire time.

The Seawing hadn't held a grudge against her mother (_maybe_ a little tiny one), but the amount of time she had spent under her overprotective clutches left a residual bad taste in her maw that seemed to persist to this day. Even just escorting her mother to the island, just her and Coral, brought back a few memories of the pearl harness that was nearly always wrapped around her, and kept her bound to a leash. Anemone swore to herself she wouldn't find herself in that situation _ever again._ Just thinking about Auklet wearing one made her sick to her stomach, which she thanked whatever deities that reigned above that Coral never had a harness fitted for her.

"Well?" Coral speaking once more snapped Anemone out of her thoughts. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Uhm…" Anemone hadn't a response at that moment, still processing her feelings about the current situation. "Well…"

Coral nosed Anemone's head gingerly, sensing hesitation.

"Is something the matter?"

The Seawing Princess drooped her head a little, unsure of what to say or do.

"I…" She picked her head up and almost apologetically looked at her mother. "I think Turtle might be better suited for this."

Coral seemed taken aback, unsure of what her daughter meant.

"Oh?" She sat back down, causing her daughter to do the same as well. "Is everything alright?"

Anemone leaned into her mother's side, trying to pick and choose her words carefully now, both for herself and her mother.

"I just… I don't feel comfortable with it…"

Dancing around the subject didn't adequately capture what Coral felt was happening here. She gestured for Anemone to keep talking, which she did, albeit quite carefully.

"I guess…" She ducked her head a little. "I kinda... I feel trapped sometimes…"

As Anemone waited for Coral's reactions, her body tensed up wholly. Coral however, calmly laid her head on Anemone's shoulder.

"...It's me that makes you feel trapped, isn't it?"

Anemone was absolutely not expecting her mother to hit the nail on the head like this, and faltered in her words.

"I… I don't… you…"

"It's alright little one… you can say what you need to say. I can take it."

Anemone REALLY did not want to do such a thing, considering the amount of feelings she'd worked through the past two and a half years. She turned away once more, still unsure of herself.

"Mother it's… we don't need to talk about it…"

Coral then nudged her daughter's head snout to snout.

"Anemone… Please be open and honest with me about this… I realize my shortcomings raising you like I did, and you absolutely deserve to feel that way about it… I want to apologize over and over whenever I remember..." She squeezed around Anemone tenderly. "If you would rather not talk about it, I understand, but please know I want to make it right by you again, little one…"

The Seawing Princess couldn't find her words to respond. "Wanting to make it right" was something she'd wished her mother felt long ago, but now it struck chords that Anemone wished didn't exist.

Somewhere in her mind, in the darker recesses tucked away by light, emotions she'd found repressed dug themselves up as if coming back from the dead. Anemone found anger and hatred raising it's talons up from the ground and reaching at her… She averted her gaze from her mother, taking deep breaths and mentally focusing on anything else she could, garnering more concern from her mother.

"Anemone?"

Anemone broke from her mother's caring embrace, onto her front talons as she paced the shores and shut her eyes tight.

'Calm down brain, c'mon. Don't do this, please, especially not right now...'

The Princess at this moment would have done near anything to regain control of the feeding frenzy that was her emotional mindset. Her inner conversation buzzed about like wasps and lightning bouncing around, sparking memories of bloodlust and malice that tainted all it touched. She nearly rammed her head into the sand if not for hearing her mother.

"...Was I really that bad?"

Anemone had to stop herself from whirling around to face her, instead deadpan turning to meet her grieved and almost scared expression. From this point on, Anemone couldn't tell what made things worse; the malicious revenge thoughts twisting her inner voice, or the guilt she shared with her mother for feeling it. Both only force fed each other until one side won out.

And it wasn't the guilty side.

"Mother… I love you, I do..." She padded forth, every step punctuating her emotional imbalance. "But… you had me kept on a leash and harness, like an _ANIMAL_, for a WHOLE **YEAR**."

"That…" Coral nearly took a step back as Anemone approached, caught off guard by her sudden change in tone. "I'm sorry Anemone, that was for your protection-"

"MY _PROTECTION_. You almost NEVER let me out of your sight, day in and out! I had no FRIENDS because I could barely TALK to anyone else!"

"That was-"

"You, effectively, ALIENATED ME from the world around me, mother!"

Coral firmly stamped her forepaw down in the sand.

"I know I was wrong for doing it, but I only did all of that so I _knew _you wouldn't _DIE_, Anemone!"

In response to Coral's stamping her paw, Anemone dug both her heels into the sand and barely restrained herself from roaring at her mother.

"WELL MAYBE I **WANTED **TO, _**EVER THINK ABOUT THAT?!**_"

...Anemone might've felt horrified, seeing the same feeling mirrored on her mother's face. Nonetheless, she continued as that rage fed off her negative memories.

"Maybe, a dragonet who feels like they're behind bars, and kept on a leash short of experiencing a life worth living, doesn't have anything to live _for_." The Princess made sure her gaze met her mother's eyes dead on. "Because for a long while, I felt _exactly _like that."

Coral sat there, stunned and teary eyed with no response.

"I…"

"And on the subject of not living," Anemone turned to pace the sands once more, her enraged energy coursing through her body now. "Remember _Whirlpool?_ That old gas bag?"

She heard no response from her mother this time, and continued on.

"Remember how you had him train me to use my powers and stuff?"

She plucked a single half shell from the shore, floating it in her palm with her magic as she stared at it intently.

"Remember how he tried to _kill _Tsunami?"

That half shell spun in her palm, faster and faster while she continued to work herself up, cracking it from the force.

"Remember how he wanted to use me as a _WEAPON_?"

She strained her talons some with power, breaking that shell with nothing but her magic and anger. The shards fell from her palm as she let it go. Coral finally found her words again, sore voiced and shallow.

"...I remember..."

Anemone turned back around, her breath shallow and trembling.

"...Do you know what that _did _to me…?"

She paced forwards, now looking down at the sand as she spoke softer and softer.

"I felt… alone, almost… even at Jade Mountain I felt too different… like I didn't have a place…"

Finally she planted herself in front of Coral, most of her repressed anger having worn off only left with depressed deflated shame.

"I felt dangerous… and I… I WAS dangerous… I fought my brother, who just wanted to help… nearly killed him… I even thought about killing others too…"

Anemone brought her forepaw to her maw, in shock at what she'd said and how she reacted.

"And for so long I've only wanted to forget about it all… become something different than all that… it…"

The Seawing Princess defeatedly buried her head in Coral's chest, who gently and weakly takes her in her arms.

"...what have I done…"

Anemone reaches her arms around Coral and hugs tightly, acting on her emotional urges learned from long ago when she was but a dragonet. Coral squeezes back, slowly regaining her thoughts and mind after Anemone's breakdown.

For a good long moment, there's but silence and wind between the two, not even waves crashing across the island. Neither of the two dared speak a word, or even move…

...Until Anemone squeezed just a bit harder, getting closer to her mother as her body trembled and shook even more. A harsh hiccuping sob wracked her body, and she seemed to crumple up in her mother's arms. Coral held her daughter just as tight as Anemone held her, and as Anemone collapsed into unabashed and open weeping, Coral nudged her head atop Anemone's back, squeezing harder.

Queen Coral comforted and consoled her distraught and torn apart little one, of who cared not what happens afterwards, but only wished to remain in her mother's embrace for now. It was familiar and home to her, and for the moment that's all she wanted.

...In that moment, that's all that the both of them really wanted.

**-X-**

The dead of night in the Mudwing Swamps and Thickets brought with it a hushed ambiance, crickets and cicadas and every other chirping insect. Fireflies dotted the night along with a soft spring of fog along the ground every so often. This night was no different, save for a gentle warm light in the distance, the smoldering ruins of the palace.

Huts pock marked the more open areas, one of which housed a group of sleepy and cuddling sibs. Clay laid around the group of his Mudwing family, protective and warm like a blanket around them all. Pheasant surrounded the other side, keeping the other three (Marsh, Sora, and Umber) all in a cocoon of warm scales and snuggles. The group snoozed soundly, Marsh and Umber a bit louder with their snoring. Clay peeked an eye open, slowly and gingerly moving so as to not wake the others, and surveyed his surroundings.

The Medic Hut was lit by but one candle burning on a table by the tub, the rest sulked in the darkness only lit as the flickering flame danced light that way. Reed lay motionless in his tub of once-freezing ice water, now just a bit chilly but still pleasant. The burns seemed practically healed by this point, Reed's expression once strained now rested peacefully. The two windows parallel to each other offered a view into the serene nightscape, which completed the absolute comfort and dreamlike beauty that Clay took in.

'This… _this_ is amazing…'

Clay's gaze found his family once more, and the faint grin tugging at his maw traced it's pull from deep within his heartstrings.

'I should've been _here _all along.'

Nosing down into the layers of wings covering the sleepy ones below, Clay found Umber and Sora huddled tight with Marsh curled around the two, all three seemingly holding each other. Pheasant had her snout laid atop the middle, serene and happy as can be in her dreams. Clay nearly jumped when he saw a teardrop drip from his snout onto Sora's back.

'Heh…'

Clay wiped that tear off of her back as she readjusted her position in her sleep, causing the rest to do the same until they settled into their places again.

'...I have to protect them, I HAVE to. They're my family...'

The train of thought Clay started to follow unwittingly began turning back towards Jade Mountain, the idea of Peril and Stardust and everyone else brought Clay to a fork in the road he _really_ did not want.

'I should've been the Bigwings, but… I can't leave them… any of them…'

He swiveled his back around to the sleeping Reed, still pondering how to resolve his split of heart. Clay noted how peaceful he looked as he lay partially suspended in the mixture, and wished he could just ask Reed what to do…

"Mnngh…"

It would seem Clay would get exactly that opportunity, seeing as Reed clenched his talons as he began to stir. The injured Mudwing's eyes slowly cracked open, sleep addled and just a tad red still, swiveling his head just enough to get his bearings in the room. Clay could almost see the consciousness swelling back into existence behind his eyes, shimmers of recognition coming together as Reed found his gaze upon Clay.

"C… Clay?"

As Reed spoke a bit louder this time, Pheasant's head peeked up in reaction. After wiping her eyes from sleep, the other three dragons found themselves groggily awakened and did the same. One by one, the four sibs dawned with realization that their injured big brother was awake and lucid. Any and all sleep instantly dissolved from their minds as all five of them simultaneously rushed to Reed's side.

"_**REED!**_"

The tub was surrounded on all sides by weepy eyed dragons, prompting Reed to perk up and smile wide as ever.

"Guys! You're-"

Reed's surprise to see Sora and Umber struck him at his core, touched and relieved to see them once again. His eyes were near underwater by the time he realized Marsh was by his side as well.

"You're all… here…"

Sora gripped Reed's arm in a hug, Umber holding his talons tight. Pheasant had her head atop his shoulder while Marsh had his other paw held firmly. Clay sat up at the foot of the tub, meeting Reed's gaze with his own content and emotional expression all the while.

"Of course we are," Pheasant sniffled and wiped her eyes before continuing. "We couldn't bear to lose you…"

Marsh laid his head on the edge of the basin, smiling while he held back a sob from erupting.

"Y-you can't just expect us not to come running when you're hurt… *Sniff*"

Reed could've sworn he was going to pass out again, nearly in a fit of crying himself.

"I… *Sniffle* I-I don't know what to say!" Reed nosed up to Sora and Umber as best he could.

"Sora, Umber… are you guys ok? Are you safe here…?"

Sora brought her head atop Reed's arm, nosing his snout a little.

"Now that you're ok, I am too…"

Umber joined his snout besides Sora. "And we have you and Clay… I feel safer here than anywhere else..."

Reed's lip quivered as he fought back tears, forcing himself to sit up as he tried to pull all his sibs into a hug. He didn't get very far on his own, prompting the four around him to help him up. Once Reed sat up, he squeezed the living daylights out of his sibs and simply cried it out with them.

Clay sat by watching the group squeeze each other happily, not daring to disturb the five and their heartfelt moment. Once Reed pulled himself back together, he nosed his sibs' heads tenderly.

"You don't know how much this means to me guys… How much you all mean to me…"

His damp snout swiveled back to Clay as he offered his most meaningful smile to his older brother.

"Clay, I owe you everything bro…"

As if on cue, Pheasant broke off to embrace Clay once more. Reed continued.

"A-and... I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Everything..."

Something about how Reed delivered that sentence brought back the fork in the road question that Clay had pondered earlier. The intense desire to protect his sibs clashed head on with the other family he made through the years… it almost seemed like Reed was suggesting Clay take his place, which Clay had a number of conflicting feelings about.

It also didn't help when the rest of the gang surrounded Clay once more.

"Thank you so much Clay." Pheasant laid her head atop Clay's shoulder, prompting the rest of the sibs to join in her thankfulness.

"Thank you Clay…"

"You're awesome."

"We love you Clay…"

Clay squeezed his family tight and enjoyed every millisecond surrounded by his sibs, grateful he was lucky enough to have them. He wrapped his wings around the group, but as he lifted his snout to Reed again…

...He expected to see the same emotional and happy expression upon Reed's snout, however this was not the case. Reed's smile seemed to droop ever so slowly, the spark of joy lit behind his eyes faded into a dim ray of realization, and Clay needn't ask a single question to know what the injured Mudwing was thinking. Reason being, Clay had that same feeling as well.

Clay glanced back to the dragons surrounding him, taking a deep breath to speak.

"I… I love you guys too, you mean a lot to me as well…" He glanced back to Reed once more.

"Can… me and Reed have a few minutes to talk...? Alone?"

Reed attempted to sit up a little straighter, albeit not very much. Pheasant found her gaze switching between Clay and Reed back and forth, almost seeking permission to go ahead. Reed nodded to her, and she nodded back.

"C'mon guys," Pheasant rubbed Marsh, Umber and Sora's backs, motioning for them to follow her. "Let's give 'em some privacy."

The younger ones followed Pheasant out, leaving the two alone in the room. Clay slowly padded up to Reed and sat by the side of the tub, Reed tilting his head away from him sadly.

"Hey…" Clay nosed Reed's shoulder. "How do you feel?"

"Well…" Reed attempted to flex his body, groaning and straining a bit in some places. "Physically, my body still hurts, but I can feel everything and nothing is broken, so that's good..."

Clay's maw perked up at hearing that. "That's good, that's really good…"

"Yeah…" Reed sighed to himself dejectedly. "Emotionally, I…"

He stopped for a moment only to cough and clear his throat again, still refusing eye contact.

"Ahem… I um… It's nothing, I…"

Clay put his paw on Reed's forearm gingerly.

"Reed…"

Reed paused at his action, and after a brief mental conversation in his head, slowly he sat up in the water again to face Clay, eye to eye.

"...When we were in the palace, fire surrounding us and all, I tried to tell you something… we got cut off by the explosion… but what I wanted to say-"

"No."

Reed hadn't even finished his sentence yet before Clay responded.

"I can't be the Bigwings, Reed…"

The injured Mudwing found his strength to sit up a bit more fully, grabbing Clay's bicep to stay up. His expression skipped sad or mournful and went straight to pleading.

"Clay please… you're everything I can't be, and all I've ever wanted for them is their safety and happiness… you can do that better than I can!"

"No," Clay held Reed's arm in return, supporting his brother while they talked. "They have you, Reed! You're their family, you've practically raised them, and you have their undying love. You ARE their Bigwings, Reed."

"But Clay, I can't even-"

Clay clamped his paw on Reed's maw, promptly quieting him. "Reed, don't."

Before Reed had a chance to try and pry the paw off, Clay continued.

"You can't be focusing on that, I won't let you. That's just going to make you feel worse. Believe me."

Reed nearly had his talons between Clay's paw and his maw, attempting to interject all the while.

"Klhmfh-"

"Reed, you've kept my family safe for almost ten years now… _Without _me. Whatever doubts you carry or whatever you feel about yourself, I _trust you with their_ _lives_."

Finally Reed pried Clay's talons off his maw.

"CRANE trusted me with her life too, and she's…" Reed stopped himself from speaking any louder, squeezing his eyes shut and wiping his tears once more.

"...She's gone now, because of me."

"Reed, that's not fair to yoursel-"

"It's not fair that I failed her, Clay. It's something I live with every day of my life, and,"

Reed let go of Clay's arm, resting back in the tub as he sighed to himself once more.

"If… If you were Bigwings I wouldn't ever worry again."

Clay found himself speechless again, blinking back his own tears. Somehow, that was precisely what Clay wanted to hear, and the exact thing that made his stomach drop at the same time. He gave the statement some thought, uneasily and worriedly, and picked out but three words in response.

"...But… I would."

Reed's talons unconsciously found Clay's, and met reassuring contact.

"Clay… besides being big and strong, a literal hero AND fire-proof… you're also one of the bravest and most kind hearted dragons I've ever met in my life."

Again, Clay was rendered speechless, this time with no sour undertones. He squeezed Reed's talons back as he continued.

"You saved my life, and you basically sacrificed yours in order to do so… That kind of dragon would not only give me peace of mind, but… they would have all my trust… my admiration… my respect."

Reed found his smile once again, this time not for himself but rather for Clay. A faint tug on his lips pulled his expression from pained guilt, to trust.

"...You deserve the family you should've grown up with."

...Had Clay not been standing on firm ground, he could've sworn he felt the ground give way beneath him. An overwhelming tide of mixed emotions carried his thoughts off to darker waters, mixed in with what could've been and all that might be. Clay's gaze fell to the floor, somber and contemplative.

Reed however had not expected this kind of reaction from his older brother. Of all things, he'd hoped Clay might be happy and even excited. He knew that Clay loved his sibs a lot, as was evident when the five of them were soundly asleep, what else would stop him?

"Guys?"

Both Clay and Reed were cut off by Pheasant's head peeking through the doorway.

"Sorry to disturb you, but… Clay," Pheasant peeked back outside before prodding in again. "Were you expecting… company?"

Clay's snout contorted in confusion.

"I don't _think_ so… Why? Who's here?"

In response to Clay's question, she moved aside to let in another dragon, one very familiar and strident looking Boteïn.

"Clay?"

Upon the two meeting eyes, Clay was startled to see the Starwing in the doorway, while Boteïn shone with recognition of the Mudwing.

"Hey! There you are!"

As he headed inside, it was apparent the others outside did their fair share of staring. Reed was agasp at the foreign dragon, while the others followed Boteïn inside. Clay prodded up to meet the Starwing happily.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Doesn't Aries need your help?"

Clay and Boteïn met in the middle, Boteïn looking Clay all up and down.

"The Queen sent me to make sure you're okay. Once we heard the Mudwing Palace burned down, everyone at Jade Mountain got really worried…"

A moment of realization dawned upon Reed as he laid back in the tub, listening to Boteïn talk about Clay's other family.

"You sure got a lot of family here that cares about you, Clay."

Clay's previous expression melted into warmth.

"I sure do… Thank you, Boteïn."

Reed found himself unsure and contemplative once more, backtracking across what he said to Clay and promptly thinking less of himself every second. The more he remembered his own words, regardless of their intent, all the more he felt like a jerk. All he'd wanted is to reassure his big brother and make sure his sibs were in good hands… He couldn't reconcile driving Clay to leave his other family behind.

Before Reed could self-loathe much more, Pheasant and company returned to the room, leaving the soft lit hut quite packed now.

"So," Pheasant nosed her snout towards Boteïn. "Would you mind explaining what's going on, Clay?"

Clay cleared his throat and sat beside Boteïn, who he dwarfed by a good foot or so.

"Guys, this is Boteïn. Boteïn, these are my siblings:" Clay started in order.

"Pheasant," Pheasant waved politely. "Hi!"

"Marsh," Marsh, just… stared for a second before waving slowly. "H… hi…"

"Sora," Sora sat still and offered a smile.

"Umber," Umber, always the peppy one, sprang up and offered his paw in a handshake (Talonshake? Pawshake? Pawshake.) which Boteïn returned after confusedly learning what it was with Umber's guidance. "Howdy!"

"And Reed, who's recovering in the tub." Reed didn't have much time to hide his downtrodden expression, and just nodded. "Nice to meet you."

The Starwing whirled every which way, struggling to keep track of who's who but seemingly having fun nonetheless.

"Um, hi everyone!" Boteïn leaned over to Clay and whispered. "_Do these guys have any idea what's going on yet?_"

"_Not a clue. I was getting to that._"

"_Oh, good._"

Umber promptly followed up to Boteïn with a fascinated sparkle in his eyes.

"Woah… are you a Nightwing? Maybe a-uh… a hybrid?"

Boteïn cleared his throat. "No, actually-"

Marsh prodded up to the curious dragon. "What about the white scales down your back?"

Sora followed suit. "Are they… _changing color?_"

"Guys," Pheasant nudged the three back. "Give him space, don't be rude."

"No no, it's okay!" Boteïn spoke up once more. "Just… not used to being the center of attention is all, y'know?"

"But," Clay spoke up as well. "To answer your questions… Boteïn is not a Nightwing. He isn't even from Pyrrhia."

THAT certainly got everyone's attention. Sora, Umber and Marsh all took a step back, Pheasant's gaze swiveled over to Clay, and Reed immediately forgot what he was angsting about.

"That's right," Boteïn puffed himself up a bit more. "I am… a _Starwing_."

Clay's group of sibs repeated the word to themselves as if transfixed by it.

"_Starwing…_"

"Starwing." Boteïn continued as he looked out the window at the night sky. "We are a race of dragons that live among the stars, travelling the vast inky blackness of space."

The sense of wonder and astonished amazement that filled the room could almost be seen flickering about like the single candle that lit the walls. As Boteïn continued, they tracked his movements and followed him as he paced.

"We Starwings roam the galaxy, searching for life and civilizations like our own, and forging bonds of kinship with all we meet. We…" He pauses momentarily, looking to Clay.

"Actually, do you have the hologram machine, Clay?"

Clay popped onto his hind talons once Boteïn brought up the hologram.

"RIGHT! Pheasant, do you have my satchel still?"

Pheasant nodded, bringing it over to him. Clay dug through it for a moment, and pulled out the black device.

"Got it! This should explain everything, this is a message straight from the Queen herself. It was intended for Queen Moorhen, but since I never got to see her…"

Clay smiled almost goofily at his sibs, excited to show his family his mission.

"I suppose you guys should be the first to know.~"

He set the device on the ground, only now noticing a giant crack along the top of the machine. Clay's heart sank into his feet, Boteïn wincing as he noticed it too.

"Ooh…"

Clay pressed his talon to the top of the machine immediately, but to no avail. All that was heard was but a tiny beep, and a faint zapping before a hint of smoke rose from the crack. Clay attempted to push the button once more, but it failed to garner any response from the now broken machine. The Mudwing hung his head low, groaning out loud.

"Uuurgh… I came all this way and it broke… great."

Boteïn picked up the machine and inspected it, looking down the middle of the crack.

"Yeah… the internal components are pretty much fried…" He continued to peek down the crack as he took stock. It looks like we'd need a new battery and holoconverter, maaaybe a spectral lens as well? This one looks fractured though…"

As he looked back up for a moment, he met nothing but totally bewildered expressions.

"Um…" Marsh raised his hand. "What's a battery?"

Boteïn sighed and closed his eyes. "Pre-Scientific Revolution… right."

Clay scratched his head. "What's that mean?"

"It means… we don't have the capability to fix it right now… We'll have to go without the message from the Queen."

"_**Or**_…"

The voice from the doorway startled everyone in the room, commanding and grand, deep yet warm… Boteïn nearly jumped out of his scales hearing it. Everyone's heads and bodies turned to see a rather imposing figure of a large dragon, a bit bigger than Clay, standing there. Most startling to all except Boteïn was his coloration, his scales atop his snout and all down his back a flowing cascade of Reds, Yellows, Violet and Purple, the occasional streak of white as well. The room fell hushed as the collective breath of the room was taken.

"_I could be of some assistance, perhaps?_"

Boteïn immediately knelt in grace to King Orion Galaxy.

"My King, I was not told of your coming here. Forgive my surprise."

Orion nods to Boteïn. "Perfectly fine. To be honest I wasn't planning on being here until Aries asked me to check up on the situation here."

As Orion surveyed the room, he noted the stunned expressions of the surrounding Mudwings.

"Boteïn… Are we unwelcome here?"

"Not at all sir! They just learned who we are, as in… right before you got here. So they're… unaccustomed to our presence, my liege."

Orion donned a hospitable and enthusiastic smile.

"Understandable of course!" He bowed to his audience in regality.

"I offer my humble greetings, fellow dragons. I am King Orion Galaxy, current King of the Starwing Freeclan and diplomat to the Starwings as a whole."

The gang of Mudwings still remained frozen in shock, albeit now more in wonder. Marsh was the only one to respond at all. He simply waved, same as before.

"H… hi…"

Orion's chest rumbled warmly with a chuckle. "Hello there.~"

Clay finally found the will to move again, realizing the dragon he was staring at was indeed the King.

"Um, King Orion sir, my name i-"

"Clay," Orion finished his sentence for him, switching his attention wholly to him. "I know. Aries informed me of you and Peril. Are you alright?"

Clay nodded affirmatively, Orion seeming quite pleased to hear this. The two stood chest to chest practically. Clay nearly met the larger dragon's snout, only having to look up just a tad. He stood in awe of his being, while Orion's warm demeanor melted into fondness.

"Before I go anywhere else or say anything else… I must inform you of my unending gratitude to you, Clay. You and Peril and the whole of… "Jade Mountain", was it?"

Clay found his words again and cleared his throat. "Y-yes!"

Orion placed a paw atop Clay's shoulder. "You raised my son… lost and in an unknown world, you helped him to thrive and become an amazing young dragon. I couldn't have asked for a better son, and just by having met him but once…" Orion's eyes shimmered, and Clay knew not if it was some mystical power in his being, or whether it was merely tears in his eyes.

"...It spoke volumes as to who raised him. As you and Peril were the primary caretakers, as I've heard, correct me if I'm wrong… You not only have the respect and admiration of a King and Queen, you have the gratitude of an entire tribe."

Clay couldn't see it, but his scales burned red up to his ears and snout. Hot to the touch, he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"O-of course, we did all we could! And th-that's a great honor sir, thank you."

Orion beamed a smile and brought the Mudwing into a tight hug.

"Thank _you_ Clay. Just as you welcomed my son into your family, I welcome you into mine. Should you need anything at all from us, you needn't hesitate to ask."

Clay hugged back, still quite unsure as to what that meant exactly, but he had nothing but good feelings about it. He squeezed the kingly figure back happily.

"Absolutely, sir. Thank you, again."

Orion let go of the hug and laid a pat on Clay's shoulder.

"Call me Orion, no need for such mannerisms among family.~"

Again, Clay was unsure how to react to that, so he just nodded along with a big ol' smile.

"Ok!"

"Now then!" Orion clasped his paws together once more, turning to the rest of the Mudwings.

"I'm assuming you all have many questions?"

The gang responded with… more silence. Reed's gaze switched rapidly between Clay and Orion, trying to understand what was going on. Pheasant was still mesmerized by Orion's deeply entrancing multicolor scales, Umber and Marsh were similarly enthralled by the Starwings, while Sora found herself in the back of the room, besides Reed and simply observing what she didn't understand.

Marsh was the only to respond. "H… hi?"

Orion briefly exchanged amused glances with Boteïn, who simply shrugged.

"Well… perhaps a better introduction is needed then."

Boteïn went ahead and sat with the others, all sitting around Orion as he sat center stage to all.

"For context between me and Clay here… Almost three of your years ago, our egg was stolen from us. The thief who had stolen it from us purposefully kept it hidden until it was time for it to hatch. From system to system they led us into nothing, keeping us in the dark and desperate. Then once it was time for the egg to hatch, they left it here. The rest… Clay can tell you."

The group looked to Clay as Orion motioned for him to continue. Clay stood to his feet and cleared his throat again.

"Ahem… When we first found the egg dropped off at Jade Mountain, it was under three moons. Considering the last three moons happened pretty recently, this was really something special. We brought the egg inside and there was a note included with the blanket that wrapped around it. It went on mentioning there was no prophecy, no weight on his shoulders, no destiny but what he chooses, and that we should care for him well for he was born of Stardust."

Orion sat up a bit straighter now, considering he hadn't heard the part about the note. Clay didn't exactly like the twang of concern upon the King's snout, but continued on.

"When he hatched… we all immediately took to him. Me and Peril, my mate, as well as the rest of my family, all agreed that we should take care of him, and we settled on the name Stardust, like the note said."

As Clay recounted the tale, his memory of Stardust and raising the dragonet brought him a twang of happiness upon his snout, nostalgia painting his mind vividly while he continued.

"He was the happiest little thing I ever had the pleasure of meeting… his eyes were so big and full of wonder at the world around him, he immediately connected to any dragon who he talked to, and… he just… understood things."

Orion originally wanted to prod in and speak up, but listening to Clay recount his time raising Stardust he changed his mind and simply enjoyed the story.

"He loved making dragons happy, he's even saved lives before. Even grown up he's compassionate and sometimes even naive... he thrived wherever he went, and besides being a little troublemaker sometimes…"

Clay sniffled and wiped his eyes. "...I've always been incredibly proud of him…"

The group collectively "Aww"ed at the statement, leaving Clay gazing at the ground in his memory. It took him a second to look back up and glance to Orion.

"But uh… what happened on your end, Orion?"

"Ah yes," Orion spoke once more. "I believe it was around Stardust's hatching that we traced a signal of his… um, energy, to your planet. It was faint, from a great distance away, nearly across the Galaxy, but it was strong enough to reach us and it was definitely him. However this signal was hidden, for… reasons unknown…"

Orion frowned in thought as he dwelled on the matter, but swept it aside.

"But… My wife had a vision of our son, which confirmed he was alive, and soon after we found the signal. From then on… we set out to reach him. Again, this was from quite far away, so it took us all this time to reach him here, but we never faltered. We never gave up in our journey. I wasn't about to lose… another son…"

Clay got caught on those last two words. 'Wait… another son?'

"But we made it here. However! You can imagine that our surprise and relief were immense when we learned the planet wasn't abandoned or savage, but instead filled with intelligent life and agreeable dragons too! You see, we Starwings value life and culture and civilization, and our endeavors forevermore are to make peaceable relations with all we meet, your planet is no exception!"

Pheasant and Reed both seemed to pop up at the thought of this.

"Wait," Pheasant tilted her head. "You mean, you want to… you're gonna…"

"If," Boteïn poked his head into the conversation. "You mean we're going to stick around and create a lasting relationship between the Starwings and Pyrrhia, perhaps sparking an interchanging of information, leading to technological and cultural revolutions in perhaps both our worlds…"

Boteïn and Orion nodded pretty chill like.

"Yeah, probably." "That's what we're leaning towards."

Clay went ahead and shut his sibs maws which hung agape, bringing back that black hologram device.

"That's what this was for! The Queen of the Starwings was creating messages for each of the Queens of Pyrrhia, asking them all to meet and discuss this!"

"Speaking of, Clay," Orion spoke back up. "Has the Queen seen this yet?"

Clay shook his head negatively, remembering the situation at hand.

"No, actually."

Reed finally found his voice once more, inputting the little information he held on the subject.

"Her Palace was destroyed literally a few hours ago, and we haven't seen any sign of the Queen, sadly…"

"Ooh…" Boteïn grimaced to himself. "That's not good."

"Indeed." Orion stroked his chin in thought. "Are rescue efforts being coordinated? Do you have a death toll?"

"The healers didn't report any fatalities, only a fair amount of burns and injuries." Pheasant looked to Clay with a smile.

"Clay actually went into the building when it was on fire and saved Reed here."

Orion and Boteïn both perked up in surprise, Orion a bit more so with pride.

"That was quite chivalrous and courageous of you, Clay!"

Reed gently held Clay's hand with a grateful yet apologetic smile.

"Thank you Clay… I really owe you one."

Before Clay could respond, Umber poked his head into the conversation circle again.

"Guys, I hate to interrupt, but there's a good amount of yelling going on outside."

The tone of the hut shifted dramatically, from calmed and repose to a tinge of anxiety that coursed through the room like static.

"What about?" Reed found the strength in his body to push himself up, albeit with straining and groaning. Pheasant helped him up as he managed to step out of the tub.

"You got it Reed?" Pheasant helped him up while Reed leaned on her.

"Yeah, just support me for a bit, ok?" She nodded while the duo peeked outside with the rest.

"I dunno," Umber responded as several Mudwings started to run towards a single direction. "But it seems urgent."

"Maybe we should-"

Before anyone else could finish their thought… an otherworldly hum warbled to life seemingly in the distance. It hushed the dragons in the hut, and definitely the dragons outside as well. Boteïn tapped his wrist comm and brought up a data screen of current energy emissions.

"Boteïn, status report?" Orion did the same on his wrist comm, accessing the Starcastle's planetwide activity readings.

"There's a-"

Boteïn was cut off by the otherworldly hum's crescendo from a hum, to a full bodied screeching that nearly shook the hut. Everyone covered their ears and ducked down, Boteïn reading out the energy outputs still.

"THERE'S AN _EXTREME _EMISSION OF GRAVITATIONAL AND ASTRAL ENERGY, 3 CLICKS NORTH. READINGS ARE SPIKING AT **532K gAEU**."

Orion checked back on his wrist comm, having to shout from the shrieking getting even louder.

"**I'M GETTING THE SAME EMISSION FROM A SHUTTLE NEAR THE MOUNTAIN, THE SHUTTLE'S REACTOR IS OVERLOADING!**"

Boteïn attempted to look out the window, seeing a bright pinkish/purple light from the distance.

"**THEN WHAT'S IT DOING ALL THE WAY OVE-**"

The Starwings hadn't any time before the crescendo loosed a massive bassy growl and ended with an earth shattering impact that threw nearly everyone off their feet. The impact rang out and reverberated into the night, and it took but a few seconds before all was calm again…

...until the yelling outside grew into an even greater clamor. The Mudwing sibs in the hut got up to their feet again, checking on each other before they collectively ran outside with the Starwings.

"WHAT IN THE **BLAZING STELLAR REALMS** IS GOING ON?!" Orion furiously turned and twisted around, trying to make sense of the scrambling Mudwings. Most were headed in the same direction, albeit a few were headed towards the explosion that just occurred.

Boteïn brought up his arm panel of info again, checking the readings of the explosion that just happened. "What we just heard was a Class 2 Reality Implosion, being redirected by…"

He stopped as the readings continued, both perplexed and solemnly aware of what's happened. Orion stared at him dead on. "_Well_?"

"...redirected by an Astral Wormhole."

"An Astral-" Orion stopped himself, partially out of anger and disbelief, but soon after in total realization and a slew of emotions all mixing together to accelerate the band of colors on his scales. Orion whispered something under his breath momentarily, then wasted no time in growling an order to Boteïn.

"_Find their Queen, make sure they meet Aries. I'll handle this._"

"My King wait, there's-"

Before he could say anything more, Orion had sped off into the night in dead pursuit of that explosion. He then turned to Clay and the others quickly.

"I need you all to find the Queen, and see what the other Mudwings are excited about. I need to go with him."

"But-" Clay hadn't a moment to react before Boteïn ran off as well, leaving him confused and generally worried. He stood there without a clue, heaving a sigh and looking back to his sibs who sat there expecting orders or directions.

"Ho boy…"

He cleared his throat, looking to the group.

"Alright, we need to find the Queen."

He pointed to members of the group. "Marsh, Sora, you guys go see what everyone's so excited about."

The two nodded and headed off.

"Pheasant, Reed, you two just… stay inside for right now. Reed I just need you to make sure you're okay before you're up and around."

"Bu-" Before Reed could protest, Clay spoke up again.

"When you ARE feeling better, you and Pheasant see if you can assist Orion and Boteïn."

The two nodded, Reed more obediently. They headed inside leaving him and Umber together.

"Umber, you and me are gonna do some investigating, alright?"

Umber took a hard gulp and nodded, accompanying Clay as he started off to the smoldering ruins. Umber stopped Clay for a second though.

"Hey Clay, I heard that Orion guy whisper something under his breath…"

Clay kept walking, but gave Umber his attention too. "Oh?"

"Yeah…" Umber looked up to his Bigwings brother a bit nervously.

"Does the name Libra sound familiar?"

**-X-**

"Yeah, it does…"

Caelum sat across from Libra, the tired Princess lounging in her cell as she conversed with the Starwing.

"I can't imagine staying away that long, I wouldn't have stayed as strong as you."

Libra's smile of courtesy implied an angst that she didn't want to expound upon, so she left the topic at that.

"It certainly wasn't easy… and there were quite a few things I would change if I could…"

"Doesn't everyone?" Caelum responded with a tint of hope lining his words. Libra was unsure how to take that as Caelum continued.

"Princess, mistakes aren't pleasant. We aren't illuminated beings automatically, we have to stumble through the universe and follow the lights as they guide us."

"Yeah, well…" Libra rested her head back and sighed. "Most don't go on a reign of terror against their own race…"

"But," Caelum provided a rebuttal. "Your reasons for doing so weren't unfounded, were they?"

"Unfounded... no, fruitless yes."

"Princess… I mean you no disrespect, but I think you're dead wrong in that regard."

Libra squinted, sitting back up to look at Caelum with a shifty expression.

"What does _that _mean?"

Caelum brought up a data pad, bringing up a simple picture of Stardust's Royal Access Profile, complete with Stardust's way too close up. Libra managed to suppress her sudden laugh, a wide smile adorning her snout in an instant.

"The Living Universe moves us all in ways we cannot comprehend, and had you not done what you needed…" Caelum pointed to Stardust's close up, attempting to keep a serious expression upon his snout. "This would not have come to pass. I'm not saying it was right, I'm not saying you should try and change it, in fact the opposite."

Libra sat up a bit more, still looking at Stardust's picture. Her heart sank into the metal below her, stirred by Caelum's words.

"My point is, Princess, you can't let yourself be bound by the chains that drag you to your past, otherwise you'll find that time moves on without you."

The Starwing Princess… had no response. Her silence was not of sadness or angst, rather contemplation and wondering what could be.

"...You're right. Thank you Caelum."

Caelum perked up with a broad smile. "Of course Princess Libra. My father used to be quite the sage, taught me everything I know."

"Well," Libra found her smile once more, seeing Caelum perk up. "Seems everyone's turned wise nowadays."

"I know right?" The helmsman went back to his pad again. "It's like everyone's suddenly extremely emotionally aware and stuff. Weird right?"

"Ah well," Libra sat back in her cot. "Best not to dwell on it."

"Indeed." Caelum padded up to the wall where an opening uncovered a built in Food Replicator. "Would you care for anything, Princess?"

"Water would be much appreciated."

"Aye."

Caelum input a simple command in the matrix besides the Replicator, and immediately the white side panels thrummed to life. With a swirling of light and particles in the middle of the opening, a sizable, rounded clear bottle of water manifested itself. With the cool steam still rising from the top, Caelum handed off the bottle to the secured transfer area in Libra's Cell.

"Thank you Caelum." She took said bottle in her talons with intent to drink.

"My pleasure Princ-"

rr_rRRR**SHUN**__**K**_!

The entire shuttle in an instant found itself almost on it's side, flopping back onto it's belly promptly. It's contents were thrown across the inside, including Caelum and Libra, albeit Libra found herself back on her feet relatively quick. The cabin had near everything tossed onto the floor, several items stood embedded in the walls and hung in the ceiling from the force. A few minor leaks dripped a pool of water onto the slick floors, but said leaks stopped fairly quickly.

Libra held her head as a few different alarms blared through the shuttle.

"Nrrgh…"

Her vision grew darker, or so she thought. As she got a better look, it was instead the shuttle's systems and power faltering. The field keeping her in the brig flickered, but held up. She pressed against it, searching for Caelum.

"Caelum, are you alright?"

Through the various alarm tones and ringing through the shuttle, she heard a faint groaning and shuffling.

"Hhf… Rgh…"

The semi-scrawny Starwing pushed himself onto his feet again, promptly collapsing with a sharp yell as his hind leg gave out.

"_**gHA**_! Ghhf…"

"Caelum! What's wrong?"

"M-my leg…" He struggled to limp over to the door controls. "It's definitely broken…"

Caelum couldn't reach the controls from his spot on the floor, and he could do naught but clutch his broken leg. Libra, deciding that staying stuck from where she was held would do no good, pressed her forepaw to the field and loosed a blast of Astral Energy that overloaded the field controller. The field soon shut down, allowing her to help Caelum up.

"Hey, don't give out on me now!"

Caelum found his strength as Libra helped him up, giving her an odd look.

"You… You could have done that at any moment…?"

Libra shrugged sheepishly. "Would you have preferred me to stay in there?"

"No, help me to the command center."

Libra nodded, helping along the limping Starwing to the controls where data and warnings rapidly filled the screen. The two immediately went to work sorting through the numerous screens.

"Matter Reactor is 146% capacity, what happened?!" Libra shifted her screen to the Fusion Engine Overview.

"Something MASSIVE got caught in our intake, I'm willing to bet it was that blASTED SHARK FROM YESTERDAY!"

Libra, confused and slightly bewildered by his statement, shook it off and observed the Reactor Levels again.

"Must've been a big shark, it tipped the reactor's Fusion Ratio into Cascade Sequence!"

"I'm working on shutting it down, I need you to-"

The two were cut off by an intense bassy warbling emanating from directly beneath them. Several more alarms and sirens sounded on the screens, prompting Libra to look at Caelum with a wide eyed gaze of terror.

"TOO LATE! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW."

Caelum pressed a talon to the screen again, but with no response this time.

"SHIP'S CONTROLS ARE UNRESPONSIVE, THE PRESSURE BAY WON'T OPEN IN TIME."

Libra felt the panic reach her maw, surrounding her neck and squeeze her chest. Her breath accelerated as her heart thumped into her brain, all her thoughts melded together in one continuous stream that-

"Wait a minute!"

"WHAT," Caelum turned fully to Libra. "ANY IDEAS? BECAUSE I'M OPEN TO ANY AND ALL RIGHT NOW."

As much as Libra _really didn't like_ the idea she had just come up with, it was the only one she managed to pull out of the chaotic state her mind lay in.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY ASTRAL POWERS, ANY AT ALL?"

Caelum hesitated for a moment, but nodded.

"I… I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CONTROL IT, BUT I DO. NOT A LOT THOUGH."

"THAT'S FINE, JUST-"

The warbling in question grew in volume now, a faint light beginning to merge through the floor as the metal panels seemed to melt. Libra took Caelum to the farthest point of the ship, and wasted no time in pressing their foreheads together.

Libra brought Caelum into her mind, who twisted and turned around in her headspace with confusion.

'What are we-'

'Caelum, no time to gawk! I need you to focus with me… do as I do, else we won't survive.'

Caelum nodded, totally focused with the threat of not living on his shoulders.

'Right.'

Libra held onto Caelum's shoulders, the warbling outside barely making it's way inside Libra's mind.

'Focus… draw from deep within yourself… feel what I'm doing.'

Libra closed her eyes, and within but seconds her form bathed in every color of light that you could imagine. Caelum watched in awe as Libra's power cloaked her being, and felt that power extending into him. Something previously unfelt surged forth, and it felt as though he could simply take the reigns and wield it to his command…

'Ok…'

As Caelum dug deep into his being to summon forth this energy, the white and gold scales that flowed down his back and neck swirled into a cascading whirl of light. That light and power echoed Libra's form as it swirled around Caelum and bathed him in energy. The Starwing hadn't felt anything quite like it, as if a star had wrapped a blanket around his very mind and soul.

'Woah…'

'That's it Caelum, you got it!' Libra opened her eyes again and gleefully nodded. 'Now, keep that up. I'm gonna get us out of here.'

'Wait how are you-'

Before Caelum had a chance to even ask, Libra strained herself as she summoned forth all of the Astral power she had in her. The energy swirling around her grew to unimaginable size and depth, leaving Caelum stunned in awe. He could only reach deeper and do his best as Libra asked, feeling that power swirl together and get used up for… something. He didn't understand it at all, but almost in an instant he felt his consciousness slip from his grasp.

Overwhelmed and totally tired out, he laid on… grass? The ground beneath Caelum felt soft and lush, his leg resting on a cushy material as best as he could tell. His vision blurred and swayed, and he could barely make out the familiar snout of Libra.

"Caelum!"

Her voice felt distant, but he summoned the strength to respond as best he could.

"H-hey… what just-"

"No time to explain, my father is coming."

Even barely conscious, blurry eyed and in pain, Caelum could recognize the pain on her face when she mentioned her father. He merely nodded.

"I-I understand… just go. I'll try to explain what happened…"

Libra nodded, and as she left, Caelum tugged on her tail.

"Princess…" She stopped for just a moment more, looking back to him.

"...Don't let the past drag you back."

Caelum couldn't keep himself awake much longer than that, but he would've sworn by the 9 stars in his constellation that Libra had tears in her eyes as she galloped away into the night. After that… he simply let the pain wash over him and serenade him to sleep.

**-X-**

"Any word of the situation yet?"

Queen Ruby shook her head no to Peril with a sad intonation to her expression. Peril rubbed her egg tenderly, her anxiety manifesting itself in her tail as it swished around the room. The guards stepped back a good few paces to be safe.

"Peril, I'm sure he's fine. He's fireproof after all."

"The entire Palace collapsed, Ruby. There were explosions!"

Ruby stopped for a second and contemplated to herself.

"Peril… he's overwhelmingly likely to be ok. Knowing Clay and everything he's been through-"

Peril whirled around in place. "He's almost died, AT LEAST THREE TIMES, ONE OF WHICH I HAD TO **BURN A HOLE** IN HIS LEG TO MAKE SURE HE SURVIVED THE _**MOON FORSAKEN SNAKE!**_"

Ruby stood back, definitely not expecting that reaction. Peril stopped for a moment, listening to the words that she just hurled at the dragon she loved as a sister. Ruby thought Peril might just collapse into a pile of tears with her sudden downtrodden expression.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell."

"It's alright Peril," Ruby nosed up to her and wrapped a wing around her. "I know how you feel…"

Peril nodded silently, wrapping Ruby in a warm hug.

"Yeah… I suppose now I do."

Ruby did her best to offer a hearty smile. "We'll get through this, everything will work out. I know it will."

"I hope so…"

Peril's gaze fell down to her egg, the sparkling scales radiating a soft heat. Ruby adored the gradient of Reds to Bronze to Orange all down the egg, garnering a proud little smile on Peril's maw.

"Speaking of hope…" Ruby lounged besides Peril, the two sitting on the balcony overlooking the night sky and the Skywing Kingdom. "Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?"

"Honestly," Peril nosed her precious egg tenderly. "I'll be proud and happy either way, firescaled or not."

"Well, have you thought of names?"

Ruby's question struck Peril in an odd way. The way everything had been going recently, she hadn't any time to actually think about it. And the more she came to think of it, naming an infant dragonet seemed totally unappealing, the amount of pressure that stacked on top of her already stressed out mind wasn't something she needed.

"Honestly… no. It's gonna be a while before it hatches, so I've got plenty of time to think about it."

Ruby nosed the egg as well, listening inside as he pushed her ear to the surface.

"Hmm… Are you counting on it being more Skywing or Mudwing?"

Peril shrugged again. "No idea."

"Any colors or traits you're hoping for…?"

"Breathing, hopefully."

Ruby chuckled to herself. "Naturally, but I mean…" She looked to Peril with an ounce of concern.

"...Peril, what are you thinking here?"

Peril found her gaze lost in her egg, contemplative and hopeful as she could almost see her reflection in the egg's surface.

"...I just want my baby to be happy. And I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that happens."

Ruby, contented with that answer, nodded in agreement.

"Then I think they're going to turn out just fine."

Peril met Ruby's eyes once more.

"I sure hope so… what if they get my crazy side?"

Ruby shook her head with a smirking smile.

"Oh they'll be plenty crazy, don't you worry. They'll also get every other great quality about you, I know it. Just look at how Stardust turned out!"

"You got a point there. He-"

The two were cut off by a single disheveled looking guard that burst into the room, panicking and flustered.

"MY QUEEN!"

Ruby and Peril immediately stepped up to him expecting news of some sort.

"What is it, have you news for us?"

The guard simply handed Ruby a note with a rather distraught expression.

"Stardust is gone… the guards were unconscious, and he left this note."

Peril clasped her talons to her maw in a gasp, while Ruby opened the note.

"I need to make sure he's ok, I'll return when I find out what's happened. I'll be fine, don't worry about me. Love… _Stardust_."

**_[Meanwhile…]_**

'They're gonna be so mad at me when I get back…'

The Starwing Prince had continued due south for what felt like an hour already, but he couldn't see smoke or fire in the distance anywhere. He recognized the Mudwing Territory for sure, but no smoldering ashes or fires guided his eyes anywhere helpful.

'Maybe this was a bad idea…'

Stardust sighed to himself, continuing to scour the landscape until something made sense to him. Considering the night blended everything together and blurred details into vaguely green mush, Stardust could barely even see the outlines of trees, which helped nothing at all. He sighed to himself and landed nearby, hoping a change of perspective might aid him.

'Well… this isn't much better…'

Stardust looked up and around the nearby area, wondering how to go about this.

'What if-'

The Starwing was cut short in thought but a piercing shriek that persisted through the air, causing Stardust to duck down and cover his ears. He could only search around frantically for the source, only seeing a distant light that grew brighter until it exploded outwards and knocked Stardust off his feet onto his back.

"Nrrgh… What the…"

He scrambled back onto his feet, soothing the ringing in his head for a moment before rushing off to the source of what he assumed was a meteor or something equivalent.

'Clay I swear on the moons, if this has something to do with you…'

Stardust was upon the site of said explosion within minutes, bounding over tree logs and weaving through thickets to get there. There lay a decent sized crater with two Starwings, one that laid on the ground barely conscious, and… another one that Stardust couldn't take his eyes off of.

'Who… who _is _that?'

Stardust only heard a snippet of the conversation before the familiar rainbow looking Starwing headed off in a hurry.

"...Don't let the past drag you back."

The other Starwing nodded solemnly before bounding off. Stardust hadn't any time to think, he simply acted on his instincts and followed the other Starwing through the twists and turns they employed. All it did was spur Stardust on even more to get to them… the thing was, Stardust hadn't a clue why. This Starwing was familiar, he felt it on a level not easily explainable.

'Who _are _you?'

**-X-**

"Alright, let's move on to /archive. This oughta be interesting."

Tau, Neon and Xenon idled on the bridge at their stations, monitoring ship functions as they explored and deconstructed the rather extensive array of commands available from the alien interface.

"Can do," Neon brought up the main interface again, the catalogue of other data and information taken thus far set aside. "Activating command now."

He typed carefully into the blinking CLI /archive, and pressed enter. The interface was silent, flickering and buffering for a few seconds before the entire screen blinked into a different interface entirely.

_**Initialize Archive Librarian Function?  
y / n **_

The three heads on the bridge swiveled to meet each other.

"Librarian _Function_?" Tau was the first to question the new screen. Xenon shrugged, stroking his chin.

"Most archival functions exist to accept search parameters, so the Librarian must act as a guide around the archive?" He turned back to Neon. "Perhaps this archive of information is just so massive, we'd need a guide to simply explore it."

"Or it could simply be an Archive Compression and Decompression tool. They must save space somewhere." Neon chimed in, growing more and more curious. "Regardless, we'll still need it if we're to explore what this is."

"Fair enough." Tau nodded to Neon. "Go ahead then."

"Aye ma'am." Neon simply input "y", watching as the interface updated with progress codes, spitting lines out faster than any of them could keep up with. After nearly a minute of this, the interface stopped once more and displayed another question:

_**Activate Auto-Exploration/INTERACT Protocols?  
y / n**_

"Auto Exploration/INTERACT Protocols?" Xenon was the first to voice his curiosity at the phrase. Neon followed suit.

"These guys really enjoyed being vague with their program descriptors…" Neon sat back in his chair and squinted in thought.

Tau stood from her chair and stood between the two. "What's the likelihood of these protocols damaging ship functions?" The brothers shared a glance before both looking at Tau.

"I have no idea." "Probably nothing…?"

The commanding dragon facepalmed ever so gently, heaving a sigh as she nodded.

"Go ahead then. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Neon again input a simple "y", watching as the interface updated much slower this time.

_**Initializing Archival Data…**_

"Hm…" Xenon sighed to himself watching the interface update. "This could take a while…"

Neon and Tau sat back in their chairs once more, watching the screen still.

_**Compiling Context Analysis Scripts…**_

"Woah woah woah," Neon suddenly sat up and forwards. "Context Analysis Scripts?"

Tau found herself immediately upon her feet once more.

"What Context? Context for what?"

_**Integrating Context Analysis with Available Sensors and Input…**_

Xenon scrolled through a few screens, monitoring the interface's advances and interactions with the ship's systems.

"Aaaaand it's accessing our system's communications and sensors, wonderful."

"Anything else?" Tau prodded up to Xenon's screens, monitoring the same data.

"Too early to tell-"

_**Initializing STORYTELLER Protocol, Indexing Sensory Input…**_

Neon's attention and fascination immediately grabbed hold of that last entry.

"Storyteller Protocol?"

Xenon grumbled to himself as he positioned several of his data screens up on the main viewer besides the interface. Data fluctuations of ship's power and access ran along the left side, while a ship map/detailed cross section with live updating visualized the interface's reach across the ship's systems.

"Whatever it is, it's REALLY getting involved with our ship's database and sensors."

Tau stepped lively back to her station, gathering exactly what the system was doing to the ship.

"Not to mention monitoring all communications and frequencies. Orion is NOT going to like this."

"Well he DID mention-"

_**Calculating Current Situational Projection, Adjusting STORYTELLER Protocol Accordingly… **_

"Current Situational Projection? _Excuse _me?" Tau rechecked her multiple screens for what effect this had on ship's systems, noticing a very faint drain on ship's power and main computer usage. "Is this thing trying to predict the future or something?"

"Can it do that? Is it possible for a computer to do that?" Neon gazed to the interface screen in awe.

"Either it's not what we think," Xenon spoke up, noting the strain on ship systems. "Or we're dealing with something out of even our league here."

"If we want to figure that out, we ought to figure out what this Storyteller Protocol is first. It could be the key to all this-"

_**Projection Complete, STORYTELLER Protocol Activated. Initialize SOUNDTRACK Protocol in Conjunction with STORYTELLER?  
y / n**_

The trio stopped again, all equally confused.

Tau grumbled to herself. "Soundtrack… so we've got Storyteller and now Soundtrack. Great."

"Sounds like we got all we need for a theatre production." Xenon chortled to himself at his own remark.

"Okay but still…"

Neon swirled around in his chair to the others. "Do you think we should?"

Tau bristled with discomfort as he mentioned the idea.

"Neon, the interface now has access to basically this entire ship, and that's a thought that greatly discomforts me. I would prefer we didn't give it anymore leeway."

"To be fair," Xenon tilted his head to Neon. "We already gave it too much leeway when we let it install itself on our main computer."

Neon nodded in agreement. "There's not really a point in saying no at this juncture, but it's your call Captain."

Tau grumbled under her breath once more, this time massaging her temples a bit.

"Urrgh… alright. But if anything goes wrong here I'm blaming you two for breaking the King's ship."

"I can live with that." Neon input a simple "y" in the blinking cursor, and pressed enter once more.

This time, the interface put out it's answer instantly.

_**SOUNDTRACK Protocol engaged, Priority Ratio set to "Background". Track Archive Indexed, Awaiting first event.**_

Tau felt herself un-tense reading that, and seeing no further changes on the ship's map or data allowed her to breathe again. "Huh…"

"Awaiting First Event sounds a little… ominous…" Xenon checked back on the ship's data, watching it return basically to normal. "What event is it talking about?"

"I think only the interface knows that." Neon speculated as he rubbed his chin again. "What if it's preparing a _soundtrack _for what it _predicts _is going to happen?"

Xenon rolled his eyes at his brother. "And _WHY _IN THE _GALAXY _would an impossibly advanced race make an over glorified playlist for future finders?"

Neon shrugged again. "Maybe they were crazy about music?"

Tau chortled to herself as she sipped her drink. "The culture nerds back home would go crazy for something like-"

_(Author's Note: The denotation below of Artist and Song is meant to be played in the background as you read the rest of the passage. Think of it like a music video you read? Use the placement of said denotation as a reference point to start playing the song as it correlates to events in the story.)_

**_[-__[__ENGAGE TRACK : Justice - Chorus__]-]_**

The three stopped dead in their tracks hearing a ping coming from Tau's console. Tau, having heard that same ping before, quickly rushed over to console and brought up a Reality Distortion Grid of the planet and the surrounding area.

"No…"

Neon and Xenon rushed to the viewing windows behind the main screen, standing there in terror. Tau found her way over as well, growling to herself.

Coming in about three miles out from the Starcastle came a smaller but still fierce looking Cruiser. Unlike the Starcastle, the other ship's hull was sharp and jagged, as if it were a knife given the form of a Star Cruiser. It's edges were worn and nearly bare metal shone silver and white, giving it a glint against the rest of the matte black ship metal. It pointed towards the Starcastle with almost malicious intent.

"NO!" Tau slammed her fist on the ship's Security Operation screen, activating Red Alert for the whole ship. The two brothers scrambled into their seats as two more dragons rushed in from the hall and took up additional spots nearby. The cruiser ahead of them turned in place, seeking to cut them off in their orbit.

"HELM, RUN ALONGSIDE THEM. DON'T LET THEM CUT US OFF."

Tau furiously pointed to Comms, taken by Xenon.

"And contact Orion on the surface,"

Her fury exacted itself towards the ship across the hull.

"_Tell him that Libra's faction found us._"

**-X-**

_(Author's note: The song thing I did up there was a little experiment I wanted to try. You only should've gotten less than a minute into the song reading along, but tell me what you thought of the whole experience!)_


	4. Chapter 4 - Time Crunch

_[Author's note: HEY! I swear these chapters get longer and longer... Remember that snippet of music from the end of the last chapter? I've set a few tracks along this chapter. but they aren't absolutely needed if you don't want to listen. That being said, I hope you guys like Minecraft. :3]_

(Chapter 4: Time Crunch)_  
_

_**-Prologue-**_

"Hello?"

Along the sleek decorated halls of a foreign and newly designed cruiser, a Starwing Guard prods along his scheduled patrol route until he finds himself seeking an echoing voice… one familiar and small, sniveling and lonesome. As he padded forwards around the corner, a ball of black scales curled up tight lay against the wall.

"Hey, this is a restricted area, what're you…"

He stopped his scolding questioning immediately, noting the royal insignia flash across her wings and the coloration of her astral marks. His voice fell a few tones down into a warmer, more friendly tone.

"Princess? Is that you?"

_[-[ __ENGAGE TRACK : C418 - WET HANDS __]-]_

He knelt down to their level, as they curled up tighter in his presence. The ball of scales shook their head, letting out a squeaky and trembling "N-no…"

The guard recognizes this voice, unmistakably Princess Libra. She's only a year old (.1 GC) and at this point she should absolutely not be by herself, especially in a brand new Starship she doesn't know. He sits himself besides the shaky, royal dragonet and gives her some space.

"Hey… you're ok, you're safe… how can I help?"

Offering help didn't seem to help, as the princess only cries a bit harder now. The guard takes mental stock of the situation, proceeding carefully and gently for the young one.

"Are you lost?"

Princess Libra finally lifts her head up, revealing her head and watery eyes to the guard at last. She seems to steel herself once more as if offended by his statement, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself.

"N-NO! I'm… *Sniff* I'm not lost…"

All that crumbles once more as she hugs her wings around her and sniffles again.

"...princesses don't get... l-lost…"

The guard, now quite certain the little dragonet was lost after touring the new ship with her parents, sighed to himself as he devised a plan to keep the dragonet calm and find her parents.

"Yes Princess."

He stood at attention to make her feel a bit more empowered.

"Would you like me to escort you to…" He stopped for a second, allowing little Libra to get her own ideas. "Um… somewhere? Anywhere? I'm just on patrol, I can take you all over the ship.~"

Upon seeing this knightly Guard stand at attention for her, Libra perked just the teensiest of smiles.

"Uhmmmm… can you… can you take me to my mommy and daddy?"

The Guard kneels down for a moment and offers a warm smile.

"It would be an honor, Princess."

From the princess's eyes were tears no more, rather glee and hope that could only radiate from an ecstatic child. She finally sat up more, looking to the Guard as if he were her personal hero.

"Can, can I ride on your back?"

The guard, thrown a bit off by the request, stood and blinked in thought for a second.

_**(A Few Moments Later…)**_

"WHEEEEEE! FASTER, FASTER!"

Sprinting through the halls on all fours with the young Princess on her back, the guard had put his Light Pike on his side and barreled through the halls at the request of his rider.

"*Huff* Aye, Princess! Hang on tight!"

Libra giggled and laughed as a giddy young dragonet might, holding on and having arguably the time of her life. All of her worries had faded into naught, and for the moment she'd forgotten all about being lost.

The guard kept his speed as best he could, doing his utmost to keep the young princess happy and entertained. As he turned in the hallways and corridors, the map he followed brought him closer and closer to King Orion and Queen Aries.

"*Huff* Almost there, a few more turns and we should-"

What the guard was not prepared for was a leak of coolant fluid across the hall crossways, causing him to slip and slide into the dead end hallway uncontrollably. The two held on to each other as the floor underneath them seemed to catapult them into the wall.

"wWWOOAAH-"

_**POOMPF!**_

The collective splat of two dragons against a cold hard wall resonated ever so slightly, leaving one upside down Libra and a discombobulated guard scrambling to get up.

"Princess, are you alright?"

The princess did not respond, rather she just attempted to right herself slowly. As she sat upright again, it was revealed her silence was simply laughter. Pure and uproarious, she giggled without a care in the world.

"Hehehehe! Again, again!"

The guard heaved a sigh of relief and stifled a few peeps himself.

"Phew… Hehe."

Once the two found themselves upright again, they had but a few seconds before the King and Queen turned the corner to see the two collecting themselves.

"Libra!"

"_There_ you are!"

Orion and Aries stood there a bit expectantly, while Libra charged into the embrace of her mother.

"MOMMY!"

Aries welcomed her wholeheartedly, embracing her daughter warmly.

"Baby girl, I was worried about you! I told you to stay close didn't I?"

Libra snuggled closer and nodded, while Orion approached the guard with pleased curiosity.

"I'm to assume you found her and kept her safe?"

The guard stood at attention and nodded.

"Yes my liege! I can show you all of what happened if you like."

Orion nods, then without further pause touches foreheads to the dragon in front of him. Briefly they interchange memories, just enough to understand the last few minutes worth of events, and but a few seconds after the two pull back.

King Orion's snout carries an impressed and pleased smirk, patting the guards shoulder. He took note of the orange and red scales down his snout to his back, especially noting the slow and careful shift between colors and scales.

"My thanks to you, soldier. You handled things well."

Orion and the guard looked over to Libra, who glanced back with a grand old smile. Orion then swiveled back to the guard, already cooking up an idea in his head.

"How would you like to be her personal guard? She'll need someone to take her around the Kingdom, someone she can trust and feels comfortable with."

Libra seems to perk up infinitely at the idea, Aries face awash with delight too. The guard stands much straighter now, star struck at the prospect.

"S-sir, that's… I-I would-"

He clears his throat and bows to King Orion.

"I swear to you, I will do my very best, my liege. I will guard her with my life."

Aries prods up to the now at attention guard, her curiosity piqued as well.

"Might we know your designation, corporal?"

The guard clears his throat once more, firmly putting the blunt end of his pike to the floor.

"I-S-O 42397, Cetus System." He sighs after reciting his Stellar Designation, obviously dissatisfied with it. "My parents abandoned me as an egg, I uh… I never received a proper name."

"Ah," Orion nodded. "I see."

"I, S, O, 4… 4, 3..." Young Libra spoke aloud trying to recall what the guard had just called himself, looking up at him while she did so.

"I-S… O… Iso… Iso!"

I-S-O 42397 found himself smiling, more on the inside than on the outside. He knelt down to Libra again, and immediately she put her nose to his. She felt safe, and even admired him… and he felt every fiber in his body shift to one thought: 'I will protect her, always.'

He smiled even more and let his eyes close.

"_Iso… That's a good name, Princess. Call me Iso._"

**-X-**

"Iso? ISO!"

"Commander wait!"

Considering the blaring alarms and rushing of dragons every which way, it wasn't easy for Iso to hear his two lieutenant commanders following behind him. Finding his way through the clamoring halls of the _**SWFC OMEGA**_, Iso kept his tail and cape swept out of the way while he navigated to a functioning panel on the wall.

"Commander Iso to Bridge Crew, what's our status?"

A short burst of static cut through the air before the hectic beeps and alarms of the Bridge Stations rang over the comms.

"_We're keeping them occupied, we've got Fractal Warp capability on standby._"

"_Shields are holding steady at 87% capacity, but the Starcastle's Surface Energy System is really making a dent in our-_"

A brief shaking of the ship and phase distortion later, the crewmans voice pops back up.

"_Negative, make that 73%!_"

"_Commander, we don't have a lot of time left here!_"

"Aye, Arrow and Echo will be up there shortly." Iso pressed a few more buttons on the panel. "Keep them busy, make sure the cloaking fields are in place!"

"_Yes Commander!_"

Another brief pause of static, and the comms went back to silence. The two smaller dragons besides Iso however, persisted.

"Commander, she specifically ordered us to stay back."

_[-[ __NEXT TRACK : C418 - DRY HANDS __]-]_

Iso continued to input commands on the wall pad, still talking as well.

"Arrow," He shot a hardened glance at the dragon to his left, ghostly white and green flowing down his back and tail. "I cannot do that, and you know it."

"Yes, you can!" The other dragon with stagnant purple and grays flowing down his snout neck and arms, Echo placed himself besides Iso in an attempt to get his attention. "We can turn tail and leave, we already have scans reporting that she's alive and well!"

"We have scans indicating she's _alive_, but I can _feel _what she feels, Echo." Iso pressed one more button to initialize the complex command he input onto the pad, but the button refused to cooperate no matter how hard he pushed it.

"She needs help, and I promised I would be there."

"She STILL would have wanted you to keep back!" Arrow interrupted once more. "She knows what she's doing, and probably is counting on being alone and _separated _in whatever plans she's come up with!"

"SHE'S _SCARED _AND _**ALONE**_," With a firm _JAB_ of his talon to the screen, it finally beeped resoundingly and opened the nearby airhatch. "AND I WILL NOT LET HER SUFFER ALONE."

Iso threw his cape to the floor, only donning a few pieces of modular body armor along his back and chest, shoulders too. Arrow and Echo exchanged glances before trying to dissuade their commanding officer once more.

"Commander," Echo put his paws to Iso's shoulders. "...Iso… This ship needs you, you are it's last bastion of leadership."

"No, Echo, I'm not."

Iso turned to Arrow and Echo once more, saluting to the both of them.

"No I'm not."

Arrow and Echo both paused, looking to one another briefly before they saluted back, albeit more out of respect than out of accepting their positions.

"Besides… I made a promise to my King. I can't back down on it now."

Iso stepped into the airhatch, Arrow speaking up one last time.

"We're traitors now, Iso… Does that promise really matter?"

...and for a moment, Iso stopped again. His eyes pierced whatever laid between Arrow and him, and he spoke with such determination the two had not seen from him before.

"...I promised Orion I would guard his daughter with my life. I swore to him, to Libra, and myself, that no harm would befall her. I was never here for a higher rank, I was never here to command the Omega Legion, and I have no qualms against the FreeClan or it's imperfections… I am here to protect Libra, and neither Starships nor my own Lieutenants will dissuade me from laying my life down for her."

Iso stepped forwards to Arrow and Echo again, feeling the ship rock and buck a bit.

"_ISO_," The wall panel erupted to life again, the bridge crew's panic tinging the air. "_IT'S NOW OR NEVER._"

Iso closed the airhatch, speaking through the mic to Arrow and Echo.

"_Take care of my Ship, or I WILL jettison you both into the nearest star._"

The two Lieutenants (now Commanders) saluted once more before rushing off to the bridge with their fellow comrades.

Iso let the light panels feed his modular armor, creating a scale tight field around him. The air in the chamber drained through the vents, and once the door opened he blasted out into the cold void. The only thing in his sights was the planet below, and bringing up his positioning matrix he quickly gained Libra's position.

'_Hang on Princess… I'm coming._'

_[-[__PAUSE TRACK LIST__]-]_

**-X-**

'Smolder…'

'Vulture…'

'V-viper…'

'That's not tea!'

From her disquieted torrent of unconscious thought, Sunny bolted upright from her sleep, a white wrapping around her head as her scales were soaked with her own sweat.

"MOTHER!"

And then all was quiet… Sunny immediately fell back against the pillows and put a paw to her throbbing forehead, shutting her eyes as the dull pain grew more tolerable. Once her eyes opened again, her attention first drew to the room around her.

Sunny recognized the room instantly, her mother's bedroom. She sat upright once more in her mother's royal bedding, bowls of water and wet rags nearby on the tables. Two chairs sat perched close besides the bed, the door slightly ajar as she could hear footsteps nearby outside.

Her first instinct was to stroll out of the bed and outside the room, but considering she could barely feel her legs or the rest of her body, she thought it unwise. Instead, she waited for the other dragons nearby to come inside.

"Is she awake? Did you hear her just now?"

The voice outside, concerned with great interest, found it's way barging in. An older and slender Sandwing made her way in, holding a clipboard in one paw and a silver cup in her other. Her hazel eyes, previously droopy, widened at the sight of Sunny sitting up.

"You're awake! That's.. alarming, but good!"

This strange dragon, before Sunny could ask a single question, prodded right up to her and bowed in curtsey.

"My name is Aloe, royal medic and a personal friend of your mother."

Sunny blinked and held her head again.

"You're a healer?"

Aloe nodded as she inspected Sunny up and down, checking her eyes and reflexes.

"Yes I am, and I've been doing so a very long time. She instructed me to keep an eye on your condition, and might I say you've been _extremely_ interesting!"

She picked up Sunny's right wing, taking in every detail.

"I dare say I'm good at what I do because I've seen near everything…" She perked back up to look at Sunny again. "Whatever this is, whatever happened to you, I have _never_ seen before."

"Speaking of which," Sunny interjects as she massages her temples a bit. "What _did_ happen?"

Before Aloe has the chance to respond, another familiar voice enters through the doorway.

"Any developments Aloe? Is she-"

The voice belongs to Thorn, and as the Sandwing Queen finds her daughter awake and alert, she finds herself by Sunny's bedside in seconds.

"_Beetle!_"

Thorn, ever the concerned mother, entwines her talons with Sunny's. Sunny squeezes back appreciatively.

"How do you feel, are you alright?"

Sunny nods, albeit slowly.

"I think I'm ok… I just have this awful headache, but it's going away."

"Here," Aloe offers up the cup to Sunny, who takes it happily. "This should help."

Sunny's initial gladness turns to disgust as she notices the nastiness of the strange purple sludge-like elixir in the cup.

"Ermm… What's in it?"

"Don't worry about it, just drink it. It tastes like fruit!"

Sunny shrugs and takes a generous sip, satisfied with the explanation given. It takes a few gulps before it really sets in, that the concoction Sunny was drinking was indeed nasty. Sunny nearly gags as she swallows again, setting the cup aside and coughing with disgust.

"HHUGH! _What_ was **THAT**!?"

Aloe, without skipping a beat, offers Sunny a second cup.

"My apologies for lying princess, I just needed you to drink it. Please, wash it down with some Jasmine Tea."

Sunny, even more graciously this time, accepts the cup of brownish looking tea and just drinks it all. This proves to be an even worse taste, _definitely_ not Jasmine tea, as she nearly physically jumps out of bed.

"**GAAAH**! WATER, _WATER_!"

Aloe moves to give her ANOTHER cup, but Thorn stops her and pours some water from the nearby bowls into a fresh goblet.

"Here darling, water."

Sunny, almost in tears by now, yanks the glass and gulps it all down in seconds. She heaves for a second before calming herself down with deep breaths.

"HOO… Huuh, huff… Moons abOVE, WHAT _WAS_ THAT STUFF?!"

Aloe picks up her clipboard, scribbling in it a bit.

"You really don't want to know. I am curious though, how did it taste?"

Sunny rubbed her tongue and shivered rather intensely.

"It… It tasted like, a bird pooped in my mouth, landed in there, and then someone set it on _fire_."

"Huh. Speaking of which-"

"Aloe, please." Thorn shot her a glance Sunny couldn't identify, but Aloe stopped mid sentence as Thorn did so.

"Yes your highness." Aloe went back to her clipboard again. "Ahem… Besides the bad taste, how do you feel now?"

Sunny bristled a bit, blinking as she took note of her body.

"Weirdly… A lot less sore. My head is clear again, and I feel almost good as new." The Sandwing Princess felt around her wings and arms, down her abdomen as her snout contorted in confusion.

"...I feel like I can feel… More…"

"More?" Aloe and Thorn exchanged semi worried but still curious glances. Thorn held Sunny's talons still. "Can you describe it?"

Before she could answer, the Sandwing Princess stopped herself once more, gazing back with seriousness at her mother.

"_Mother…_ What happened? I remember the Dragonbite Viper, and then panic, and then it's all fuzzy from there…"

Thorn and Aloe exchanged glances again, and Sunny hadn't a clue why that made her so anxious.

"You don't remember?" The Sandwing Queen sat beside her daughter, worry sown in her expression and compassion radiant in her eyes. Sunny simply shook her head, nearly nose to nose with her.

"Nothing… Did I get hurt?"

Aloe interjected once more, respectfully but poignantly.

"Oh you got hurt alright. That viper went straight for Thorn, and had _you_ not grabbed it instead it would've absolutely killed her."

Thorn rubbed along Sunny's right forearm gingerly.

"It bit your arm, Sunny… You saved me by grabbing it before it got to me, and I can't thank you enough beetle… But moons, when that happened it felt like my entire world was about to break."

As Sunny listened intently, a slow burning panic welled up in her chest, her breathing quickening faster and faster. She checked her wrist to find no bite marks either. Questions started to arise in her mind, and it almost felt like her paws were on fire!

"Wait wait wait, I-I got bit? How… How am I alive? How long ago was that, why aren't there any bite marks?"

She held onto Thorn's talons a bit tighter. "Am… Am I gonna die?"

"Nonononono, no you're not gonna die, you're alright! You're here and you're alive and well!" Thorn squeezed Sunny tightly, while Aloe felt the time appropriate to interject again.

"After it bit you, the venom took its course like natural… But something unexpected and… Rather unexplainable happened."

It was about this time that Thorn and Aloe's attention increased… But their focus seemed to be placed differently. Thorn stepped back for a moment, Sunny's rapt attention split between the two. Her gaze swiveled back and forth.

"What? What happened?"

Thorn, half mesmerized, gently placed a talon on her daughter's chest.

"That."

Sunny had experienced just about the strangest five minutes of her entire life, and as Thorn motioned to her chest, the strangeness continued doubly so. She looked down and witnessed, from what she could tell… her chest glowing with a serenely warm and divine golden energy. As she looked down at her chest, the same energy seemed to overflow from her paws and talons too. The light glowed rather prominently, a shade or two lighter than Sunny's own scales, and as she felt the awe and inspiration surge through her, that energy and light shone more and more intensely.

Thorn held Sunny's paw with both of her own, mystified and awe struck.

"After the viper bit you, you fell back and… Well, writhed on the ground in pain. Smolder and I rushed over to you _screaming_ for the guards, but… you only laid there for about a few seconds before the bite mark started to radiate this... magic."

Aloe drew a bit more near, tantalized by the awesome energy glow.

"A Dragonbite Viper's venom can kill in seconds, and those unfortunate enough to get bit will die slowly and arguably in the most painful way… _You_ not only survived, but the viper immediately croaked after it bit you, and something inside you activated this… Energy. And this energy started _breaking down the venom._"

Sunny, understandably, hadn't any words at all. Her gaze remained locked on her talons, mystified and wonderous. Thorn continued all the while.

"After that… Your entire body grew wrapped in magical energy, like it was pulsating and healing you. The bite mark vanished before our eyes, like nothing even happened. The energy started getting more and intense around you, and your eyes opened for a few seconds..."

Sunny finally tore her gaze away to see Thorn's expression far afield. Sunny hadn't known her mother to be awed or stunned by much, and witnessing her pause briefly in such a manner almost frightened the Sandwing Princess.

"...Out of your eyes and mouth came rays of fantastic light… It shone through the entire palace almost, and… Moons above Sunny, for five or so seconds you were _divine_."

Hearing of all this and witnessing her energy flow through her body, Sunny again was awestruck and speechless. She closed her talons and took a deep breath in an attempt to gain control. As she did, the light faded… Much to her surprise.

"What…" Sunny found her words once more and looked to Aloe. "What else happened?"

Aloe shook her head.

"Nothing. The light faded, you collapsed, and we brought you here. All that happened but a few hours ago."

"Okay…" Sunny calmed herself down some, looking back to her mother. "Is Smolder okay?"

"After nearly fainting," Thorn noted with a wry smile. "Yes, he is. After we made sure you were okay, he went ahead with his plan to talk to Onyx. He should be there now."

"Ah, that's good at least." Sunny glanced around the room again. "Do we know who planted the viper?"

Thorn nodded. "Ember confessed to being threatened by one of the kitchen staff, who fled immediately after. She's in custody for the moment."

"Do we know if Vulture was involved?"

"Most probably yes, but let's not worry about that right now…" Thorn nudged Sunny with her wingtip. "Let's make sure you're really alright first."

Sunny nodded again, finally getting onto her feet again. Thorn leaned against her, just to make sure she stayed standing up, which Sunny very much appreciated.

"So…" Sunny glanced up to Thorn. "Any ideas why I suddenly have super cool light magic?"

Thorn shrugged helplessly. "I've never heard of such things happening to anyone… That's why I brought in Aloe."

She whirled around to Aloe. "What're your thoughts?"

Aloe cleared her throat and scribbled more on her clipboard, going to the flip side of the page.

"Well… Based on what I've seen so far, Sunny's physiological responses, her mental state and recovery… I'd say…"

After dramatically scribbling a bit more, she turned the clipboard sideways and presented a simple message for the two of them:

_**ITS MAGIC.**_

Thorn growled under her voice some.

"Aloe I brought you here for medical evaluation, not punchlines."

Aloe tosses her clipboard aside.

"Dang it Thorn, I'm a doctor not a magician!" She paces around the room while Sunny and Thorn watch.

"This goes _way_ beyond my scope, I can't give you much more answers than 'She's fine, she's got healing magic or something!' "

"Well then," Thorn sighed to herself, sitting besides Sunny on the bed. "Have you _any_ other ideas?"

Aloe strokes her chin some, glancing between the two royals. "Well…"

She prods up to the two, her voice quieter now.

"...Do you think the _Starwings_ might know?"

Sunny arches an eyebrow at the comment.

"How do you know about _that_?"

Thorn nudges Sunny's side softly. "Relax, I tell Aloe practically everything. We go back quite a ways."

Aloe seems to beam a smile at the comment.

"But you do have a point," Thorn continues as she rubs her chin. "The Starwings have probably seen hundreds of strange cases like this. They could definitely have an answer to whatever's going on."

Sunny follows along with her mother's logic. "We could ask Queen Aries during the upcoming meeting?"

Thorn shakes her head at the thought. "There wouldn't be much time to chat between the other queens..."

The Sandwing Queen continues to stroke her chin, barbed tail swirling along the ground some.

"Hmmmmmh… What if we go and try meeting her first? You did say she was set up at Jade Mountain, yes?"

Sunny nodded along. "Yeah, she should still be there."

"Then I dare say we should go meet her first." Thorn nosed Sunny's head gingerly. "Think you're up for travel?"

The Sandwing Princess shook herself off, bristled her wings a bit and took one more deep breath.

"Sure! Gives me an excuse to check up on Webs and Starflight, make sure they haven't burned my school down yet.~"

Aloe, curious and excitable, poked her head in once more.

"Um… No chance I could tag along, is there?"

"Actually, I was hoping you might." Thorn offered a smile to the older Sandwing. "Just in case something else happens to Sunny."

"Moo-oooom," Sunny stamped her paw to the ground. "I'll be ok!"

"Sunny," Aloe cut in once more. "Three hours ago you got bit by the most venomous creature in Pyrrhia, basically had a magical transformation, and took a power nap shortly after. I think a little concern is warranted."

"Aloe is right dear," Thorn picks up a few items to pack in her side satchel as she speaks. "Just to be safe."

Sunny mumbles under her breath something about cursing snakes, and collects her things. Aloe noses up to Sunny again.

"Also… I've heard quite a bit about Jade Mountain Academy, I would _love _to see it for myself! I'm sure with you as head of the school it's wonderful!"

A tickle of happiness scratched Sunny's brain, suddenly exciting her about returning home.

"Then I shall give you a full tour of the school when we get there!"

Thorn, already at the door, motions to everyone else.

"Shall we, ladies?"

Sunny, about to respond in kind, looks down at her talons once more… Noting an ever so soft glow like before. She couldn't exactly pinpoint what kind of feeling this was, but the only thing she knew for sure was that she enjoyed it. She looked back up with a determined grin.

"_Let's go!_"

_**(Meanwhile…)**_

Twisting and turning through thin streets and tight corridors rarely appealed to Smolder, having to fight for wing room and bumping into another dragon every ten seconds. Fortunately, Smolder need not go very far until it opened up into a broad and open street lined with barely opening shops.

The distant horizon and skyline still lay dormant and sleepy, lazy purples and dark navy painting over the stars, preparing for dawn in the coming hours. Even at this time of night, Sandwings could be found nearly everywhere, albeit less were active at night. Those who _were_ active around this time, were not to be trifled with.

Smolder made his way to the fancier streets, crossing over to a metal fenced building with a bit of golden gilding etched into both the metal and reinforced sandstone. The building stood resolute, fashionable and dignified, yet protected and strong. Had anyone else found their way to this building, they might have mistaken it for a small palace. The front door, steel reinforced wood, stood guarded by two Sandwing escorts, both mean looking.

"Morning," Said Smolder, very much not intimidated by any of this. "Is Onyx in?"

"You will refer to her," The left guard, baritone and fierce, spoke first. His lazer beam gaze dug into Smolder. "As **Queen** Onyx. As in, the_** true**_ Sandwing Queen."

Smolder, ever the stoic and charming dragon, stood unphased. He simply turned in place to the other guard after a moment.

"Morning," Said Smolder again, just as before. "Is Onyx in?"

Displeased growls and drawn spears were his response. Before he could speak again, the door quietly squeaked open. This attracted the guards attention, seeing as Onyx herself burst through. She stopped as soon as Smolder crossed her vision.

"Onyx!" Smolder did his best to put on a warm and welcoming expression, fatherly as possible. Onyx sighed and rolled her eyes, only for a moment before pushing past him.

"No. Get out."

As Onyx strolled right past him, Smolder followed casually.

"Nice to see you too. How's the whole Queenship thing going?"

"Shut up, stop following me."

"Do you want us to take care of him, my liege?" The right guard from earlier stepped forwards, prompting the left to follow suit. Onyx didn't even look back as she replied.

"Don't bother, remain at your posts. I'll be fine."

The two nodded and resumed their places, leaving Onyx and Smolder to keep walking. Smolder did his best to casually insert some conversation.

"So… What've you been-"

Onyx stopped both Smolder and herself in the middle of the street.

"Why are you here? You know as well as I do we have _nothing_ to talk about."

Smolder, for the first time in a while, hadn't a response to that. His usual charming demeanor faded to something between somber and adamant, something Onyx might've interpreted as emotionally aching.

"...Yes, yes we do."

"No, we don't."

Onyx dismissed her father once more, simply poking forwards. She took a good few steps before Smolder had planted himself in front of her once more.

"Onyx, daughter… I'm _not_ leaving."

Seeing that sort of determination from her father, Onyx instantly knew something was up. Whether it was heartfelt and sincere, or simply news she needed to hear, Onyx knew not. But she knew her father to be a decent dragon, and wanted to at least hear him out.

"...fine. I'm heading to a cafe before I attend a meeting later on, we can talk there. Until then, just follow me, and don't make me regret being associated with you."

Smolder offered a smile to his somewhat estranged daughter. "Thank you, Onyx. That means a lot-"

"And _just-_" Onyx put a talon to Smolder's snout in aggravation. "Shush. I'm already not in the best mood."

Smolder silently nods in agreement, keeping his trap shut. The two pad off down the street, occasionally glancing at the shops opening up.

Onyx didn't know how she felt walking beside her father for the first time in a long while, especially the fact that her mind lay distracted by the dragon beside her. Distractions in Onyx mind never lasted in her laser focused attention, and having Smolder occupy a small portion of that attention drove her absolutely insane.

But she prodded on towards the cafe a few blocks away, doing her best not to lose the cool persona she so meticulously kept up. The two kept walking in silence as the first semblance of morning crept in on the horizon.

**-X-**

"They should be around here somewhere, right?"

Qibli and Moon poked their heads out of the nearby bushes, searching the area for anything of relevance. The mellow early morning rays hid behind the foliage and dense trees, offering not much help to the search.

"Between the Diamond Spray River and Delta is what he said." Qibli made his way down a faint clearing, noting the path's wear from travellers. "And that's quite an area to search, he could've at least narrowed it down a bit."

"Better than nothing," Moon prodded up behind him. "At least we found a path of some sort."

"Think it leads anywhere useful?" Qibli sniffed at the ground intently, to Moon's confusion.

"It… might… what are you doing?" The Nightwing continued down the path while watching Qibli continue to sniff.

"A trick Thorn taught me way back when." He continued down the trail with his nose to the ground all the while. "Trails used often have a different scent than their surroundings, so if someone's been down this way recently or quite a few times, it'll smell… well, different."

Qibli hadn't yet picked his head up from the ground, but he needn't see Moon's face to tell that she had her doubts.

"Uh-huh… fascinating." She simply prodded past him, stopping short at a tree that caught her attention.

Qibli on the other hand had discerned a scent from the ground, and began sniffing furiously.

"Theeere you are…" The Sandwing pressed his snout further to the ground, now adventuring down the path past Moon, who still seemed quite fascinated with the same tree. "Moon, I got a scent, come on."

"Qibli wait, look at this-"

"But I have a scent! It's pretty strong too, let's go!" Qibli ventured forth, nose to the semi-beaten path. Moon just sighed to herself and let him go, prompting him to stop for a second and glance back.

"What?"

The unimpressed Nightwing gestured behind him again, and as Qibli swiveled his head back around, he came snout to snout with another, _bigger _Nightwing who didn't seem the most friendly by his expression.

"_Lookin' for something?_"

"GAH-"

Qibli fell backwards onto his scaly hind, while Moonwatcher stood by his side. Scrambling to get back up, Qibli dusted his scales off to present himself more formally.

"Uhm, uh… Yes, we are, actually-"

"_Too bad, scram._" The burly Nightwing, an ever so slightly maroon tint to his scales and wearing but a leather pouch around his chest, gestured back the way they came, seemingly scowling more and more by the minute. Moon and Qibli exchanged slightly worried glances, unsure of this new Nightwing's intent.

"Can we just ask a few questions though?" Qibli asked humbly, doing his utmost to appear non threatening.

"_No_," Immediately the Nightwing responded. "_Beat it._"

"But we-"

Qibli had barely a moment to react before the Nightwing in question snarled a deep and gravelly growl, prompting the Sandwing to step back a few steps. It took nearly every muscle in his tail to keep it from readying itself to attack position, which would only have brought tensions higher.

Thankfully Moon spoke up just in time.

"We're not here to harm the scavenger sanctuary, we know it's protected, we're simply looking for a friend." She planted herself beside Qibli chill as a cucumber. "We'll leave when we find him, or if he's not here."

As if Moon had spoken the secret code to disarming the dragon, his expression instantly softened and his demeanor lightened up about a dozen shades.

"Really? Great, now I don't have to be mean!" The previously aggressive Nightwing sat back on his haunches and offered a way relaxed and polite smile. "Sorry about that guys, my boss really hates trespassers here."

"Waitwaitwait, Scavenger Sanctuary? Moon where did-"

Before Qibli even finished his question, Moon pointed to the solid looking oak tree from earlier, where a sign hung from a nail half way down. Qibli squinted to get a better look…

"_HARMONY SCAVENGER SANCTUARY"_

_"TRESPASSERS WILL BE CHASED OUT!_"

"Huh…" Qibli offered Moon an "oops" smile, to which she responded with a smirk and a punch from her wing just hard enough to push him an inch or so.

"Ow… Uh, sorry about that. I didn't see the sign."

"Obviously." The Nightwing Guard, still chill and lax, proceeded down the path once more. "No biggie though! My name's Kindheart, big talons, big muscles, bigger heart.~"

"I'm Moonwatcher," Moon gestured to Qibli. "This is Qibli."

"Nice to meet you guys, though I'm afraid you're out of luck." Kindheart started down the path again, Moon and Qibli following behind. "Apparently I'm really good at my job, so not a lot of dragons come down this way anymore. Haven't seen any others for about a week now." His smiley snout found the rays of the sun peeping through the trees, silver scales illuminated by the rays.

"I'm afraid there's little chance your friend is here."

"Actually," Qibli piped up once more. "We're looking for Winter. We just came from the Talons of Peace, they said he was somewhere over here?"

Kindheart stopped in his tracks, and whirled around to cast a worried eye on the two.

"...Winter, huh? Did Riptide put you guys up to this, because I can guarantee you he's not-"

"Riptide didn't send us, we're friends of Winter." Moon responded promptly. Qibli couldn't tell exactly, but for a second he could've sworn he detected a tinge of guilt on her expression.

"Old friends… We need his help with something."

Kindheart's worry vanished from his snout, replaced only with curiosity.

"What did you guys say your names were?"

The duo reintroduced themselves.

"I'm Qibli."

"I'm Moonwatcher, Moon for short."

Kindheart repeated their names to himself under his breath a few times, nodding once he had them down.

"Moon and Qibli. Got it. Follow me, I'll lead you to our lodge alright?"

The duo nodded complicitly, following in the rather large Nightwing's footsteps. The path ahead was short until they stopped, a short offshoot path led them down to a clearing which contained a medium sized, well built shack, a few slatted windows near the roof to let in sunlight and fresh air. Kindheart stepped up to the heavy wooden door, notably steel reinforced, and turned around to Moon and Qibli again.

"Ok, so… Winter and my brother went to… uh, resolve an issue with some of the scavengers, I don't know what, so until then I have to ask you both to wait here. I just need to talk to Azure and Dragonfly, make sure they know what's going on."

Moon didn't need to look inside Kindheart's head to see that he didn't exactly feel comfortable doing that. He rubbed his head shyly and chuckled to himself.

"So uh… give me a minute ok? Be right back."

And with that, Kindheart produced a key from his pouch and disappeared into the mystery shack. Moon and Qibli sat down, glancing at each other. Qibli spoke after the first minute of silence.

"Well… he seems nice."

As if on cue, interrupting Moon's reply, aggravated yelling and indistinguishable insults were thrown at each other, neither of them belonging to Kindheart. The most prominent of these were a female voice, younger than the others but definitely the loudest. What was most troubling was how this went on for a solid five minutes, before any sign of stopping. Multiple times Moon and Qibli were expecting the door to burst open and be attacked by a stranger, but to their surprise no such thing occurred.

Only once the voices settled down, did Kindheart's snout poke through a crack in the door. Oddly he had a few beads of sweat dribbling down his forehead, the kind that only came after vigorous exercise.

"*_Huff* _Ok! You guys can come in now!"

Moon and Qibli both had many questions, but silently agreed to keep their traps shut until they deemed it appropriate. Kindheart opened the door for them, letting them into a rather cozy main hall. The interior was fairly rustic, everything made if not of log and wood, then of stone and granite, or sometimes polished metals. A decent fireplace lined the back of the room, bookshelves lined with journals and a few jars of herbs and such, a few open cabinets for foodstuffs too.

What caught Moon and Qibli off guard however, were the tiny inclusions seemingly sized for scavengers. The fireplace sat surrounded by two smaller fireplaces, both with cooking spits equally sized. The bookshelves were spaced out evenly, with much smaller shelves at the bottom easily accessible by scavengers, and with furniture covered by wood panelling at the top to prevent anyone stepping on it. The room felt packed with stuff, cozy and comfortable, and highly functionable as well. Moon and Qibli both immediately relaxed in this atmosphere.

This changed however when one of the two oaken doors on parallel sides of the room (the left specifically) burst open with one livid looking Mudwing coming through it.

"That's IT, I'M TAKING A RESEARCH DAY."

Kindheart winced to himself and let her through, the small and spritely Mudwing carrying a heavy pack and several bags around her waist. She stopped at the main door, regarding Moon and Qibli.

"I apologize for my loudness, my name is Dragonfly. I would _love_ to stay and chat," Dramatically she turned around to the other door, across from the one she burst out of. "But s_oME DRAGONS WOULD LOVE IT IF I DROPPED OFF THE FACE OF THE PLANET._"

As if on cue, another voice from behind the other oaken door erupted forth, albeit muffled.

"_SURE WOULD BE A LOT QUIETER, NOW WOULDN'T IT?!_"

Dragonfly, about to storm over to said door, was stopped by Kindheart, giving her a stern but admonishing look. She stopped, but just barely, and regarded Kindheart in return with a fiery glare that almost made Qibli shrink back. She growled deep in her maw, and turned once more to the door.

"_WELL HERE'S QUIET FOR YOU!_"

And without another word, she whirled around to the exit and slammed it shut behind her, rocking the shack just a little. Moon and Qibli stood there a bit shook and totally confused. Kindheart sighed to himself, with just a tint of disappointment in his expression.

"Sorry about her, she can be…"

"Loud?" Moon guessed.

"Crazy?" Qibli also guessed.

"How about," Before Kindheart could respond, the same voice behind the other door responded in kind, before a tired and slightly disheveled looking Seawing, softest blue as can be and with his dorsal fins drooping down some akin to hair, graced the two's sight.

"An absolute hurricane of fury and grief that never shuts up?"

"Guys," Kindheart gestured to the newcomer. "This is Azure."

Azure padded over and bowed respectfully. "A pleasure to meet you both, any friend of Winter is a friend of mine."

Qibli was the first to react with surprise, followed shortly after by Moon. Friends? Friends of Winter? The prospect was a welcome one, albeit… somewhat strange.

"I'm Qibli," Qibli took the initiative and introduced himself. "And this is Moonwatcher."

Moon offered a smile in return. "Pleased to meet you."

Azure nodded, while Kindheart motioned to the fireplace, a few cushions along the floor to rest on. Azure took the leftmost one, Kindheart the rightmost. Moon and Qibli sat in the center, while Azure took a simple mug from the nearby table and sipped it gingerly.

"So," Moon looked to Azure with burning curiosity. "What uh… what do you all do here?"

Kindheart spoke up first. "Me and my brother Scrollseeker signed on as guardians, when Winter first started up the project. We were working with the Talons of Peace, but…" He stopped short, as if deciding to leave out parts of the story. "Well it was starting to feel like we weren't welcome anymore. Shortly after Winter left, we did too."

"Huh, ok." Qibli glanced to Azure next. "What about you Azure?"

Azure chuckled to himself and smiled in memory. "If I'm being quite honest, I didn't really want to leave the Talons of Peace. I was their head of Seawing Relations, Queen Coral kind of liked me. The only reason I left was because of Dragonfly."

"Wait," Moon piped up again. "You left because of her?"

Azure nodded with the same smile. "Yeah, she really wanted to join Winter's cause, so I came with."

"You… willingly went with her?" Qibli glanced back and forth between Kindheart and Azure. Kindheart leaned over to him slowly.

"_They're mated._"

Qibli regarded the Seawing with a disbelieving and confused stare, whilst Moon simply nodded to herself, the situation making much more sense to her.

"Oh yes," Azure took another good sip. "We met in Sanctuary a year or two back, and we just… fell in love almost instantly. When Winter decided he wanted to leave and start his project, Dragonfly, who worked as a botanist and alchemist, convinced me to come along as mediator and territory manager. And, well, we've been here ever since."

The room fell silent for a good few seconds, Qibli still confused as ever, Moon watching and waiting for him.

"Huh…" Qibli blinked a few times in thought. "That's great, I'm glad you two are… happy."

Azure nodded and took another sip, chill as ever. "We have our fights, yeah, but we make it through them in the end."

Kindheart stretched out his talons as he yawned, laying on his side. "They can be a happy couple, believe me."

Moon absolutely believed them, but looking at Qibli, she wasn't sure he was convinced. She didn't blame him, seeing their fights like that, but Moon knew love was capable of such strange things.

The sound of keys unlocking the main door disrupted the audience and their conversation, and a scrawny but lithe looking Nightwing almost fell through the doorway.

"Kindheart, we gotta go find Dragonfly, Winter wants her to-"

The new Nightwing, a slight green tint to his scales and a messenger bag around his chest, stopped to see the two newcomers in the main hall. He pointed at them, then to Kindheart and Azure. Azure nodded in silent confirmation, as did Kindheart.

"It's alright bro, they're here for Winter."

"Scrollseeker," Azure spoke up. "Can you get him in here? Tell him he has guests, important ones."

Scrollseeker silently nodded again, motioning for Kindheart to follow him out. As the two Nightwings set themselves outside, a brief passing conversation was held with a temperamental voice, which briefly passed and headed inside. Winter, just as Moon and Qibli had remembered him (if not a bit bigger and bulkier) clomped inside, setting his bag down by the door.

"Alright, can we make this quick? I'm a very busy dragon and I have about a million things to do."

He hadn't yet caught the sight of the two guests by the fireplace, as they had of him. Moon took note of the scavenger hanging onto Winter's neck spines, casually and calmly. He even had a little saddle where he sat comfortably. The scavenger, male as far as Moon could tell, with his long blonde hair and heavy jacket, tapped Winter's side as he regarded the two new dragons warily. Winter didn't notice.

"I can assure you, you don't know the real stressors of having to take care of an entire village of semi helpless scavengers, protecting them from everyone else who'd rather eat them."

Winter, still distracted as he rummaged through his back, only looked up as his scavenger friend tapped his neck _much _harder.

"_Hey,_ what is it Jun?"

The scavenger pointed more heartily at the fireplace, to which Winter finally did.

_[-[__ENGAGE TRACK : C418 - KEY]-]_

Winter obviously was accustomed to coldness, being an Icewing. However, a different kind of coldness set into the room when his gaze set down upon Qibli and Moon… Moon and Winter locked eyes instantly, and the coldness Winter described set into his soul; a cold that ripped up the past and threw it across his vision, clouding anything and everything that came up.

Moon's verdant green eyes met Winter's glacial blue, both unable to distract themselves from anything else. Qibli seemed to be the only one who could change either of their gazes.

"Hey, Winter."

Qibli meeting Winter's eyes was the opposite of coldness, their exchange of glances was the only thing that settled Winter back into reality. That, and Jun's rubbing on his neck to calm him down.

"H-hey, guys." Winter prodded forwards a bit and sat down in front of them, feeling quite similar to floating in a dream.

Moon felt control of her expression disappear, and a soft set smile bloomed forth, a little more than she cared to admit.

"Hi, Winter."

Qibli stepped forwards again, drawing the hologram device from his bag and taking a deep breath.

"_We _really_ need your help._"

_[-[__PAUSE TRACK LIST__]-]  
_  
**-X-**

"Everyone's glad to see you guys again, y'know."

Following the crowd of Mudwings through the dimly lit brush, Marsh and Sora went wingtip to wingtip with each other. Marsh's words broke Sora's slightly anxious and contemplative expression.

"Yeah, it definitely seems like it." Sora's maw bloomed forth the beginnings of a smile, still thinking about Reed and Pheasant and Clay. "Good to know our sibs always have our backs."

"Especially after the time you guys have been gone…" Marsh surveyed the small trail of Mudwings around him. "Three years, Sora… We missed you guys so much. We worried about you, and there honestly wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you both…"

Sora couldn't help but reflect on that notion, considering how every aching moment of her introspective self isolation was spent, if not on her own actions, on how much she missed her sibs. Despite secretly believing everything was but a stone's throw away from collapsing back into drama and hysteria, Sora had to admit everything was turning out much better than expected.

"Yeah… everything's gonna be ok, right?"

Sora glanced hopefully at her brother, who seemed as if he were about to respond with utmost optimism. The quickening of the Mudwings and frantic energy further ahead cut him off, however. Several Mudwings ran past them back towards the main encampment they'd set off from, others simply panicking at another scene just ahead. Sora and Marsh hadn't much reaction other than glancing to each other momentarily, then charging ahead to the scene.

Breaking through the circle of Mudwings surrounding a small clearing, the dimming moonlight painted the scene with grisly detail.

Four Mudwings lay dead, two on the ground and two viciously pinned against the nearby trees by their wings, spikes driven through their wingbones on both sides. All four lay pock marked by stab wounds through the neck and chest, no longer bleeding. One more dragon lay slightly outside of the ring, this one a Sandwing. And by the looks of it, blood along his stinger and scratches all over his bony chest, he'd been one of the dragons doing the stabbing. The Sandwing's eyes were bloodshot and widened, his neck crooked at an angle definitely not healthy.

Marsh's breathing grew rapid, his chest seizing up harder with each breath. Sora covered her maw and took a few steps back, retching into a nearby bush. Two new Mudwings, both wearing medical satchels, rushed in to inspect the bodies. The rest of the onlookers talked about in hushed astonishment, only giving way to one important looking Mudwing Commander.

"_LISTEN UP_, ANYONE WHO SAW WHAT HAPPENED HERE NEEDS TO SPEAK UP, **RIGHT NOW!**"

No response, except for unsure glances at each other and anxious shifting. Marsh raised a talon in question.

"Um… Commander, besides the obvious, who are these guys?"

Sora chimed in besides him. "I swear I recognize them… are they important?"

The Mudwing in charge heaved a pained sigh.

"Yes, yes they are. You're looking at the only relatives of Queen Moorhen."

_**(Meanwhile…)  
**_  
"You say that as if we're going to just find her taking a nap under here."

Umber and Clay sifted through the rubble of the palace, any and all embers practically extinguished now. The first floor still had a few rooms partially intact, a couple of walls seared with the reminder of the raging flames.

"Well, she might've had some sort of compartment or something! Reed and Pheasant said she had her secrets, most of which she never shared with anyone. There's _GOT_ to be something here."

"Liiiiike?" Umber picked up a large piece of flatwood, only to have it snap in half, the other half totally crumbled into ash. "What if whatever we're looking for got burned in the fire?"

"What if it didn't?" Clay noted the main poles, mostly carved granite, still intact. "We have to at least look around."

"And I definitely agree with you," Umber poked around the walls, peeking in between the layers. "But again, this place is pretty much destroyed… what are we really looking for anyway-"

Without explanation, Clay's head shot up and swiveled around to the distant forest. Umber promptly shut up, pointing his snout in the same direction and standing next to Clay.

"...What is it?"

Clay prodded forwards towards the forest once more, signalling silently for Umber to follow. Umber took this order with a nod, the two prowling towards the trees and crouching low to the ground.

"...I don't know... I just… got a feeling…"

Clay suddenly pounced forwards into the trees, out of Umber's sight.

"W-wait! Clay!"

Umber jumped along with him, blindly albeit, bonking his noggin into Clay's back. After briefly stepping around him, the two settled their eyes onto one badly beat up, hardly breathing, _Queen Moorhen._ She lay in the grass, bleeding ever so slowly out of a bandaged wound on her side, her pleading gaze on Clay, who momentarily stood dumbfounded.

"Queen Moorhen!" The two exclaimed in synchrony, rushing to her majesty's side. Umber, having learned a bit of healing from Jade Mountain Academy, examined her wounds and bandages hurriedly. Clay held her talons and propped her (rather massive) head up on his thigh.

"Hold on, we'll get help here soon, just hang in-"

"N-no…" Her voice rasped weakly, barely audible as she clutched at Clay's side. "There's no time… I-I'm not…"

Umber grimaced to Clay as the queen hacked a nasty cough, dribbles of blood down her chin and sides of her maw.

"I-I failed my kingdom, Clay… I let this happen…"

"_NO_, **NO**. You did not fail, you are NOT going to die, I just need you to-"

"Clay, look…" Umber garnered Clay's attention, unwrapping Moorhen's bandage. A deep gash, cauterized but still oozing with what looked to be venom, caused Moorhen to weakly roar out with pain. She clutched at Clay's talons and faced him eye to eye, panting hard.

"Clay, Dragonet of Destiny and Wings of Earth… there is only one heir left to the throne... The Sandwings, my sibs…"

She faltered for a moment, but forced herself to keep going.

"M-my only sister was barren and… In all my years, I've only had one egg… one child of my own..."

Clay and Umber glanced to each other once more, the dark understanding of witnessing the death of their queen plunging the air into solemnity.

"My baby… he is hidden-" Moorhen coughed up whatever she could to gasp for breath again, spattering red across the grass. "Find the catacombs… find my… m-my son…"

She placed her shivering talons on Clay's cheek, prompting him to hold them gingerly. "_Protect my baby… m-my little E-Evergreen_…"

Clay hadn't seen the pleading look in her eyes before, terrified for her kingdom and bereaved at the loss of her sibs, and asking for the hope of continuing her lineage somehow. She had no other requests or concerns, only that of her child… Clay solemnly nodded, squeezing her talons back as Umber stood beside him.

"I swear… He will be safe with us."

For the dying queen, relief washed over her expression, rays of the nearby dawn sifting through the trees and lighting her eyes with hope once again. With her thumb, she stroked Clay's cheek, a tear dripping down from the corner of her eye.

"_I'm… proud of you…_"

Finally, her eyes unfocused, her talons drooped, and unceremoniously her head flopped to the side. Clay lay her eyes to rest, and laid her down. Umber knelt and bowed his head in silence beside his brother.

"CLAY!"

A short galloping through the brush later, Marsh and Sora pounced into the clearing, Marsh immediately rushing to Clay.

"Clay, you gotta come with us, we have to find the Queen, she's in terrible-"

Sora's stunned silence, along with Clay and Umber's dignified sadness, prompted him to turn around and finally take note of the queen that lay dead before them. Marsh stopped dead in his tracks, sinking down to her level with a hint of despair.

"...She… How…"

Sora nosed Clay's side worriedly. "Clay, the others… Moorhen's sibs…"

Clay's gaze never left Moorhen's face, her expression previously hurt and distraught with nothing left, etched itself into the corners of his head. His promise and her renewed hope resonated even moreso, burning further in the back of his mind…

"_I'm… proud of you…_"

That last part didn't stop ringing around, feeding back into itself until his ears rang with tinnitus. Why would she say that? Clay had only met the dragon once before, and that was but briefly for ceremony. They had no emotional connection, why would they? Was Moorhen hinting at something? Did she secretly know something Clay should have?

'Stop it! Stop thinking! You have to act now, mud for brains, do something! She entrusted you with finding the soul heir of the entire Mudwing Kingdom, you gotta _move_!'

Clay cleared his throat.

"They're dead, I know…"

Marsh finally broke through his disbelief. "Then… then the Mudwing Kingdom has no more heirs…"

Sora naturally nosed back to Umber. "...what do we do?"

Umber wrapped a wing around Sora, while Clay brought all three in for a group hug.

"Moorhen told me with her last words that she had but one child, and she hid him in the catacombs. Her dying wish tasked us with protecting him…"

He stood once more, heading back to the medic huts with the other three in tow.

"We need to talk to Reed and Pheasant, and find these catacombs."

Clay spoke with finality in his voice, determined beyond reason now.

"The last heir of the Mudwing Kingdom needs us."

**-X-**

"He _really _wants to stay hidden, doesn't he?"

Down the darkened streets of the main Skywing City did Mesar and Nimbus stroll, following a map upon Mesar's wrist. The dawn had yet to come upon these parts of Pyrrhia, only a few other dragons roamed this early.

"He's definitely led me on a few wild goose chases before." Nimbus kept a watchful eye on their surroundings, also pondering his statement. "Wild geese chase? Chasings of wild gooses? Geeses?"

"I have literally no idea what you're talking about," Mesar's wrist beeping stayed consistent, no updating on Cliff's signature. "But I'm guessing it's a colloquialism of some sort."

"Yeah. It means he's done this kind of thing before, giving us the slip."

"Ah…"

The two continued on in silence for a bit, only after Nimbus heaving a guilted sigh did Mesar speak up.

"So, this Prince Cliff… What's he like?"

Nimbus seemed to perk up at the question. "He's genuinely a good kid, I really hope he'll be king someday! He's kind, sharp as a talon, and the Skywing populace has taken to him well."

"He sounds lovely!" As Mesar and Nimbus continued, Mesar brought up another question. "If that's the case… Why do you think he keeps leaving?"

"I'm willing to bet it's because Queen Ruby is terrified of losing him. She always has a guard placed with him, and he spends a lot of his time away from the palace."

"Huh." Mesar responds lightheartedly. "Mother issues?"

"He's… I hesitate to say troubled, but…" Nimbus rubbed the back of his head almost wistfully. "He's not had any good father figures, sadly to say."

"Ah." The Starwing empathized with Cliff more and more. "Not even any uncles?"

Nimbus hesitated to answer that question. "Well… Ruby and Hawk don't get along well at all, Vermillion rarely visits the palace and is taken with his own interests, and… I'm not sure the others are even alive anymore."

"What about you?" Mesar kept his snout busy with the search, rounding out the end of the street almost. "You're one of his personal guards, surely you must have some connection with him."

Nimbus' silence prompted Mesar to turn to his partner, seeing the Skywing's almost ashamed frown.

"I… I, uh… I don't think I'd be the best for him…"

Mesar stopped the search seeing as they've come to the end of the street with no results, and inspected Nimbus confusedly at his response.

"If I may further ask… Why do you think that?"

Nimbus looked over his shoulder, finding a café just opening its doors.

"...what say we stop for a break? We've been at it for quite a while, I can treat you to my favorite spot."

Mesar's response, besides the unplanned grumbling of his stomach, was an understanding and slow nod.

_**(In the cafe...)**_

"I never had anyone growing up…"

The two sat across from each other, the petite cafe housing barely another three dragons besides them. Mesar sipped on a cup of coffee (a drink that he instantly became enamored with) whilst Nimbus lazily dined on his creme puff (Mesar made a mental note to order one of those next time).

"My father spent half his time in prison, the other half was spent either slovenly asleep or terrorizing my mother…"

Mesar sat back on his cushion, listening to Nimbus go on. Nimbus leaned on the table, his eyes trained on the half eaten puff.

"Of course, I could never do anything about it. Mom blamed me, and even after my father offed himself she never let go of that resentment towards me."

"Nimbus, what could you have done? You were just a kid at that age." Mesar brought the silver cup to his maw again, taking the last few sips of that rich caffeinated nectar. "It's completely understandable, your situation."

"I know, I know…" Nimbus laid his head atop the table, maw in front of his plate. "It just sucks, is all… I just… I want to give Cliff the things I didn't get growing up…"

Mesar nodded to himself. "Well he has you, Queen Ruby said you were his favorite."

"And I am!" Nimbus lifted his head off the table, showing his emotional investment. "We have an emotional bond, he thinks we're friends and so do I, but… I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm fatherly towards him… After all, I have no idea where to start, and I might just muck up his development with how I was raised..."

"Nimbus." Mesar attempted to take another sip, finding no more sadly, and set the mug down. "You might be the only paternal role model he's getting right now. A fatherless Prince with a mother who runs a whole kingdom doesn't get much parenting, and I mean no disrespect to Queen Ruby."

He leaned forward and held Nimbus' talons. Nimbus was quite unsure how to feel about it, but seeing as the dragon came from outer space, he went along with it.

"Don't worry about what you're doing for the kid, just be there for him. You don't have to be a dad, just… Make sure he isn't alone, and make sure he doesn't _feel_ alone. Y'know?"

Nimbus found himself squeezing the Starwing's talons in return, a very slight flush across his scales. His smile was sincere and honest, feeling a bit better about himself.

"Yeah… Thank you Mesar, you've… Illuminated me, in a sense."

Mesar beamed a smile, prideful and theatrical. He posed elegantly as if on stage.

"Why thank you! The brightest stars bring comfort and solace to the darkened hearts, I suppose.~"

The Starwing yet again picked up the mug of once delicious coffee, disappointed again to find it empty.

"Also… You think I can get some more of this?"

Nimbus, his eyes wandering back and forth as if contemplating an idea, sat more and more rimrod straight.

"Brightest stars bring comfort… Where does he feel comfortable?"

"No seriously, this stuff was _really_ good. You called it what? Cah-fah? Cee-fee?"

The Skywing's eyes widened in realization, and swiftly he scarfed the rest of his creme puff and rushed out the door, motioning for Mesar to follow. Mesar, hesitating and glancing wistfully at the bartender, called back to Nimbus.

"BUT… TH-THE CAHFAH!"

A swift tug from Nimbus, and the two were off again.

**_(Half an hour of flying later…)_**

"So, tell me…"

Having traveled but an hour away, the two strode through Possibility's sandy streets, watching the vendors open their scattered and colorful shoppes. Mesar glanced around in amazement at it all.

"Why are we in this town specifically?"

Nimbus found his way through the quarters, familiar and dusty and bustling with Sandwings.

"Cliff always loved Possibility, he and Stardust often came here together. He said that 'seeing Sandwings and Nightwings and Skywings all live together' made him feel more at home than in his palace."

Mesar tilted his head in thought, impressed hearing the young dragon's feelings. "Wow… That's some forward thinking there."

"I told you, he's a genuinely good kid! Just growing up without… Structure, I guess." Nimbus stopped him and Mesar as the two ended up in the Sandwing Courtyard.

"Now… Would you mind, uh… Doing that thing again? With the wrist?"

Mesar nodded, activating his wrist tracker along the screen on his sleeve. A faint echoing pulse rang across his screen, displaying a trail of genetic samples along the ground.

"Well well well! Nice detective work there, partner."

Nimbus found himself nosing to the screen in awe.

"Woah… You uh, wouldn't be able to tell how recent that trail is, would you?"

Mesar fiddled with a few settings, tweaking informational saturation as more text popped up.

"Not exactly… The genetic trail has been here for less than a week though, so this is probably where he went off to."

Nimbus nodded, as the two followed the trail down the corridors of Sandwing architecture. Fewer and fewer Sandwings appeared in the way, and less actual buildings graced their paths. The crumbling sandstone seemed to erode further and further until around them lay naught but ruins.

Mesar and Nimbus spun around in circles, and watched the trail of Cliff's genetic dust peter out into nothing.

"Well…" Mesar disengaged his tracker, searching the area. "Now what?"

The Skywing stroked his maw, wracking his brain with concern. "There has to be something… He couldn't have just disappeared, could he?"

"He didn't fly off either, the trail would've still shown…" Mesar recalibrated his tracker a bit more. "Lets spread out, see what you can find."

"Well," Immediately Nimbus knelt down to the ground. "There's a lot of footprints around here… This place has something to it, nobody just goes around ruins like these for fun."

"Maybe there-"

_Creeaaaak…_

A squeaking wooden door opening cut through the air, prompting the attention of the two. Mesar instinctively ducked down, prompting Nimbus to follow. A pair of Sandwing heads peeked over the ridge of one of the ruined walls. Mesar scrolled across his screen, shifting to an audio enhancer. Static crackled for a moment before the speech came through.

"_...-hope they start haulin' in some big ticket items. Been nothin' but petty thievin' lately."_

"_Startin' ta question the leadership 'round here."_

"_We been doin some pretty shifty stuff lately…"_

"_Yea, an what's with this little Skywing pipsqueak we got? The Nightwing was bad enough, but why's Cobra got us roughin' up a runt like that?"_

"_Now 'at don't seem right. Kidnappin' kids ain't worth the trouble anyhow, always squirmin' an cryin' and stuff."_

"_Makes me feel like we're the bad guys 'ere."_

"_Well, we kinda are."_

"_Yea, but still-"_

The two Sandwings prodded out of view and out of sight, the audio enhancer cutting out finally. Mesar and Nimbus exchanged glances again, Mesar now elevated with worry, Nimbus seething with what Mesar would've called fury and hatred.

"Should we call for backup?"

Nimbus shook his head no. "No time. Can you fight?"

"Yeah, I can cover your back."

"Got it."

Stealthily and swiftly the two wove through the walls, sneaking to where the two Sandwings came from. Nimbus sifted through the sand, uncovering a heavy wooden hatch. He took a sharp breath and glanced to Mesar.

"You ready?"

Mesar steeled himself, taking out his expandable Light Pike from his side holster.

"We're just going in guns blazing?"

Nimbus squinted at the Starwing in confusion.

"...what's a gun?"

Mesar pointed his talon in response, unsure of whether or not he should explain. As if on cue, the hatch slowly opened, Mesar and Nimbus behind the pair of Sandwings climbing out casually.

"_-I'm never buying dates from that place again, they were so over ripened, it's not even funny."_

"_Yeah but their prices are super cheap."_

"_So? Ain't worth it if they don't-"_

Nimbus was the first to launch a surprise attack, swiftly butting the blund end of his spear against the first Sandwing's head. Like a brick she fell down against the wall, prompting the second to rear up.

Mesar swiftly applied a firm jab of his wings along the outside edges to the Sandwing's neck, twice in quick succession. That one fell just as quickly, silent and skillful. Nimbus and Mesar nodded silently at each other, compliments evident in their expressions.

The two opened the hatch, first inspecting the dimly torch lit interior for any signs of others. They dropped down fleetfully, crouching against the walls… Cells lined the interior walls, only one guardsman sitting in the corner, taking a gratuitous nap.

Mesar applied the same two-jab technique, while Nimbus checked the cells. Scouting further revealed no other Sandwings guarded the underground, allowing them to speak again.

"No one in the cells… I don't get it, he HAS to be here!"

Mesar scratched his head some. "It's possible they were talking about a different Skywing kid…"

"What other Skywing kid would be worth kidnapping, Mesar?"

"I dunno, this planet's priorities just seem out of order anyways!"

"Okay," Nimbus stopped Mesar right there. "I have no idea what _that_ means and I won't ask, just help me look around ok?"

Mesar nodded again, albeit exasperated, and the two split up in the single hallway. There were no other doors, exits, or hatches that the two could see, until Mesar brought up his genetic tracker again.

"Waaaait a minute… That's strange."

Nimbus padded over. "What is?"

Mesar shared his screen with Nimbus, as Nimbus could see a path along the ground of many different colors, all leading to an open cell door, right into the wall.

"That."

The two glanced up at the wall, and agreed that it looked perfectly ordinary from the outside. Mesar could detect no cracks, and Nimbus found no secret switch or lever.

"So I'm going to assume something is on the other side of that wall…" Nimbus kept searching the cell frantically, while Mesar scrolled along his screen, searching for a tool to use.

"Maybe I have a seismic resonator in this thing, I can use that to find any sort of hidden features in the walls."

"Sure, do that, I'll just-"

Astonishingly, yet again, the wall began to move on its own. Two Sandwings stood in the doorway yammering on in their own conversation.

"_-but what I'm saying is, I don't think papaya is really all that healthy for you."_

"_Then WHY did my mother feed me nothing but papaya for years, when it so clearly-"_

_WHACK! BAM!_

Instant KOs. Nimbus rubbed his talons off, Mesar flexed his wings.

"Y'know," Mesar began, stepping over the two unconscious Sandwings. "I thought this would be moderately harder."

"These guys are definitely not professionals." Nimbus took stock of this new room, more cleanly kept and with maps and racks lining the walls. Only two cells lined the walls, this time one empty and the other housing…

A frightened looking Nightwing dragonet. Mesar stood by the doorway, keeping a lookout, while Nimbus went to work unlocking the cage.

"Shhh, we're gonna get you out of here, just stay calm."

The young Nightwing, a pastel dark blue with wide golden eyes, nodded with tears in her eyes. "Oh thank you, thank you thank you! Those Sandwing thugs tried mugging us, and kidnapped us when we didn't have anything, we've been-"

"Wait wait, hang on." Nimbus roughly opened the door at last, holding onto the young Nightwing's shoulders. "We?"

"Y-yeah," She wiped her eyes and pointed to the only other door in the room. "A Skywing… I-I think his name was Cliff… He was over here with me, but they took him in there… He…"

She sniffled again, wiping her watery eyes again.

"...he tried to save me when they robbed me, but they just took him too…"

Nimbus stood up and took a deep breath, growling deep under it. He spoke once more to the Nightwing Dragonet, calmly and with as warm a tone as he could muster.

"Thank you… What's your name?"

"G-golden, sir."

Nimbus smiled, confusedly and curiously, but he smiled nonetheless.

"Golden?"

"Yeah, Golden… My momma named me that because of my eyes."

Indeed her eyes were gold, deep and shimmering too. Nimbus took note, smiling a bit wider.

"Well… Nice to meet you, Golden. I'm gonna go get Cliff now, are there any Sandwings in there?"

Golden nodded in nervous shyness, holding up two talons. Nimbus took one more deep breath, motioning to Mesar.

"Alright, I'll take care of this. You go wait with my friend, I'll be right back, ok?"

Golden, obviously scared for this new kind dragon's well being, nodded again and scampered off to Mesar's side, who did his best to entertain the little one. ("Golden you say? You sure are a golden one!" "Tee-hee!")

Nimbus, as he approached the door, heard three distinct voices from the otherside. One was calm, with an air of meanness and intimidation. The second was gruff and loud, angry and aggressive. The third stood out the most, despite being so quiet in comparison… a young boy's voice did not whimper or whine, but rather shouted shakily and heartily, obviously scared for his life, but never backing down.

"_Oh just give it a rest kid, no one's going to find you here."_

"_Or what's LEFT OF YOU ANYWAYS!"_

"_So just tell us what we'd like to know, and you get to keep your scales on your body."_

"_H-HA! The secrets of the Skywing Kingdom will DIE with me, you won't get __**ANYTHING**__!"_

"_Heh, you got spunk. I'll give you that much."_

"_Won't do you much good, __**brat**__."_

"_Needle, go ahead and take a talon off his pretty little paw."_

"_W-What? __**N-NO WAIT!**__"_

Deciding not to allow this exchange go any farther, Nimbus kicked in the door, slamming it into the gruffer of the two and knocking him back into the wall. Immediately Nimbus got to work, pinning the first of the two to the wall and slamming her head through the sandstone.

"**NIMBUS, YOU CAME!**"

Nimbus whirled around to find an overjoyed Cliff bound to the wall with his wings and arms spread out. The sight drove Nimbus even angrier, prompting him to barrel into the other bulkier Sandwing, still recovering from the door to the jaw, and pin him to the ground.

"GRK!"

He held the ruffian Sandwing down with a hindpaw against his throat, the scarred and mean looking Sandwing choking and struggling wildly. With one well placed SLICE from his talons, his enemy's neck sliced open and the life drained from his eyes in seconds. Nimbus regretted such savagery in front of the young Prince, but he deemed it necessary in the moment.

"_**Behind you!**__"_

Cliff shouted out to warn Nimbus, and the Skywing had but seconds to roll over, narrowly avoiding a stinger to the face as the second Sandwing charged back at him. The enraged Sandwing attempted a second thrust and it almost reached Nimbus' skull, if not for his two paws catching it just before.

"Rrrgh… Oh look, a _hero_!"

The Sandwing pressed it harder to his skull, pushing him back against the wall. She wasn't all too large, but this one definitely knew how to use her force.

"Too bad he's gonna get _STABBED_ IN THE _FACE_."

Nimbus held that stinger just inches from his eye, using all his might to keep it at bay. He would've admitted, this was not the way he thought he'd go out, but he would be glad it was for a good cause.

_CHOMP!_

"**GRAAH!**"

The Sandwing let up in her violent force and whirled around, finding Cliff's teeth sunk in her outstretched wing. This gave Nimbus a chance to redirect that stinger _straight_ into her own _neck, _and as he pushed it deeper into her esophagus, he _RIPPED _it out across the other side of her neck for good measure.

The last Sandwing sank to her knees, stumbling to the floor with a solid thud. Nimbus stood there and watched, covered in blood and wobbly legged. He collapsed to one knee for a moment.

"_Phew_… That… That was a work out."

Cliff hung there in disbelief, teary eyed and shaking so hard the chains rattled. Nimbus tore the key off the larger guard, and unlocked Cliff's cuffs.

"Hey, it's ok now, I'm here bud, you're sa-"

Cliff needn't any further encouragement, and the instant he dropped from his chains he lurched forwards into Nimbus' arms, squeezing as tight as he could.

"_Nimbus, I'm sorry! _I'm _so _sorry, I should've left a note or something, I just…"

The dragonet squeezed harder, heavily crying into Nimbus' chest.

"I… I'm so glad you're here…"

Nimbus, still panting hard, held young Cliff in his arms, and promptly sat on his haunches against the wall.

"It's ok… *Huff* You're ok… *Huff* hoo… what say we stay here for a minute…?"

Cliff said naught as he nodded slowly, curling up against his guardian. Nimbus let his head back, closing his eyes. Cliff was safe now, he was warranted rest for the time being.

"Nimbus, you alright bud?"

The peeking in of Mesar's head around the door prompted him to sit up, still holding Cliff tight.

"Yeah, I'm good… just, winded, a bit…"

Mesar recoiled at the amount of blood on Nimbus' talons and chest momentarily, cut short by the young Nightwing rushing in to see Cliff.

"Cliff! Cliff are you ok?"

Cliff switched in an instant from Nimbus to Golden, holding her tight in a firm hug.

"Golden! I'm fine, they didn't hurt me, are you ok?"

She nodded shakily, squeezing back. Nimbus watched on with a faint smile on his maw, as Mesar helped him to his feet.

"Seriously, you alright? No injuries?"

Nimbus nodded back heartily, cleaning some of the blood off himself.

"Quite alright, and we've made sure Cliff is safe, so I dare say I'm happy about all this."

"We're not done yet though."

Cliff's interruption caught the attention of Nimbus and Mesar, as he hurriedly rushed to the other room and searched across any tables or scroll racks nearby.

"What do you mean we're not done yet?" Nimbus followed close by, not letting the young Skywing out of his sight. "Cliff, you've been kidnapped and almost _tortured_, I'm not letting anything else happen to you."

"Nimbus," Cliff finally brought up a map fragment depicting some of the southern Claws of the Clouds Mountains, and some of Jade Mountain as well. "They're planning something, I overheard them!"

"And it is NOT your concern, Cliff!" Nimbus raised his voice just a tad, enough to get his point across. "We'll report it to the Sandwing authorities, but I'm not letting you wade back into danger again-"

"Wait… are you…" Cliff's attention wandered over to Mesar, unfamiliar to him but curious. "...Are you a… Starwing?"

Mesar, about to answer his question for him, stood aback as he answered correctly.

"That I am… how did you know that?"

Cliff looked back to Nimbus, more urgently this time.

"Nimbus, they know. The Sandwings who are plotting something know about the meeting, or whatever that means, and they're going to try and-"

"They _know _about the _meeting_?" Mesar's voice rose a bit louder in disbelief. "How? Only a select few are privy to that information!"

"Wait," Nimbus waved his talons confusedly. "You mean the meeting between the Queens? THAT meeting?"

"That one. And they're going to try and stop it." Cliff pointed to a spot on the map fragment, right about where Jade Mountain Academy began. Golden gasped to herself, Mesar and Nimbus immediately poured over the map to make sure Cliff was right.

"...And, you're absolutely sure that's' what they were talking about?"

Cliff nodded, his focus far in contemplation. "I remember seeing this big scary tattooed Sandwing talk about it… he said something about Dragonflame Cactus."

Nimbus had known the young prince to take political matters quite seriously, diving headfirst into matters some adults wouldn't dare touch. Cliff took to such topics with fascination, wanting to know everything he might to better his kingdom. Truly he understood the inner workings of a kingdom, the stakes that hung in the balance. Nimbus felt a pang in his stomach he couldn't describe as he took note of Cliff's expression shifting to one of horror.

"...I… I think they're gonna try and bomb the meeting… kill off all the queens in one place…"

Mesar's expression went cold, checking the expressions of everyone else in the room confirmed his fears as well. He tapped the screen on his wrist again.

"Queen Aries, are you there?"

No response… not even static.

"_Queen Aries, this is Sentinel Mesar, do you copy?_"

Again, nothing. He tapped a few more times, broadcasting on a wider channel.

"This is Sentinel Mesar broadcasting on multiband frequencies, does anyone copy?"

Nimbus, Cliff and Golden looked on in confused fascination, anxiety lining the undertone of the room. Mesar growled to himself.

"No responses… from anyone, weirdly. It can't be radio interference, the airwaves around your planet are practically clean. Someone's preventing communication down here."

Cliff looked up to Nimbus worriedly. "Nimbus, what do we do…?"

Nimbus looked back down to the map again, mulling over his options. What was he to do? What was he expected to do? His only mission was to recover Prince Cliff, and he'd already done that. Whatever this entailed went way above and beyond the scope of his duties, but…

Glancing over to young Cliff, he knew that the prince was right in wanting to stop this plot, but he hadn't any idea how.

"Mesar… when did you say the meeting was?"

"By now… should be around this time tomorrow."

Cliff was the one doing the gasping this time. "We have to hurry!"

"Cliff," Mesar spoke up this time. "I agree that this is an urgent issue, but we have other dragons to take care of this. You don't need to be in the line of fire anymore."

Just as Cliff was to protest, Nimbus cut the two off.

"Mesar, he's right. We have to hurry if we're going to warn them in time, that leaves no time to escort Cliff back." Nimbus offered a serious glance, one conveying worry yet trust, to the princely Skywing. "He'll just have to come along, _now won't he_?"

Cliff was unsure of how to react for a moment, but he soon sat upright and nodded affirmatively.

"I won't slow us down, I promise! I can handle myself!"

Mesar regarded Nimbus with a look that held a single question: 'Are you sure about this?'

Nimbus simply nodded, an adamant steel behind his expression. Mesar nodded along.

"Alright then. Stick close to us Cliff, we'll need you."

"First," Nimbus spoke up once again, assuming the role of group leader. "Golden, we need to get you to safety. Do you live close by?"

"I-I live in the Nightwing Quarter, I can find my way back from the main streets."

"Good," Nimbus led the group out of the underground tunnels, making sure no one was following. "We'll get you back to safety, then we have to make our way south."

Swiftly they made it to the broad streets of downtown Possibility, where Golden found the shining corridors to the Nightwing Quarter. She stopped momentarily, however.

"Cliff!"

Cliff nosed up to her, whereupon she planted a peck on his cheek. "Promise me you'll be safe, ok?"

Cliff, reeling from the kiss on his cheek, nodded with a heavy flush across his snout. "I-I promise. I'll come see you again… uh, sometime?"

Golden flashed a perfectly adorable and pleased smile, before turning into the crowd and vanishing in between the Nightwings. Nimbus and Mesar did everything in their powers to contain their sheer joy, maintaining their seriousness. Cliff however saw right through their facades and huffed to himself.

"_C'mon_ guys, we gotta move!"

Nimbus and Mesar took to the skies along with Cliff, the three hurriedly making their way across the town. Dawn crept up over the hillside and buildings, casting rays all across the streets now. Nimbus led the way towards the mountains, praying they would not come too late.

**-X-**

'_No no no no no, come on! Where did you go?_'

Stardust poked his head through bushes and treelines, still poking around in the darkness in hopes of keeping himself concealed. He stalked after the mysterious rainbow scaled Starwing which he swore he recognized, only to lose her in the grove of bushes she suddenly jumped into.

'_Please be still be there, please still be there, please still-_'

As if on command, the mysterious Starwing poked her head out from the bush, surveying her surroundings. Her scales down her back no longer dripped down with rainbow colors, as if she could conceal them at a moment's notice… Stardust still recognized her as the same dragon, though. It only brought up more and more questions in his mind.

'_How do you do that…? Can… Can I do that?_'

The mysterious dragon moved on from her hiding spot, swiftly taking off towards the mountain range. Stardust pounced after her, stalking from a good distance behind while keeping her in his sights. The two trailed all the way to the base of the Claws of the Clouds Mountains, where Stardust caught up to her as she found her way to a cave in the side of the sheer cliff face. Stardust felt now was a perfect time to introduce himself at last, but just as his talons reached the ground…

"Iso… I know you're there."

Stardust nearly leapt back into the brush in surprise, maintaining his hiding spot until the mystery dragon found him. To his surprise, a totally different dragon stepped forwards from the opposite side of him, another Starwing. This one larger and bulkier, red and orange adorning the scales cascading down his neck and back. His talons draped across the stone ground, quiet and graceful.

"Was I that obvious?"

The other mystery dragon nearly stomped her talons down, as her voice dropped to a pallid hissing.

"_I told you to take the Omega and STAY AWAY."_

"The Omega is probably out of the quadrant by now, they damaged the Starcastle's communications and sensor decks when they came in. They're safe, Princess."

Stardust, paying careful attention to the conversation playing out, found himself stunned in place when Iso called her Princess. It took a moment for it to register, but Stardust's mind whirled inside of his skull with a stressful combination of wonder, confusion, anxiety, and most of all, questions. Lots, and lots, of unanswered questions.

'_Why didn't mom and dad tell me about her…? She was here the whole time? Did she know about me, or did they keep us apart on purpose…?'_

"Iso I told you, I don't need help! I have to do this on my own!"

The mysterious Princess stormed off into the cave, leaving Iso to follow behind.

"Then why are you on the run, again?"

'_On the run…?'_

Stardust had no choice but to poke along from behind, staying just out of earshot. Libra sighed to herself in self pitying aggravation.

"Due to a… uh… an extremely unlikely and unfortunate occurrence. Everything was going rather well until the blasted shuttle decided to explode."

"It… exploded?"

The two settled in the deeper part of the cave, Iso setting up a synthetic light along the wall.

"Matter Reactor intake suddenly swallowed up something massive, caused the stellar core to kick into overdrive…" Libra rubbed her head awkwardly and sat down. "I uh… had to make a singularity for me and the pilot to escape."

Stardust could've sworn Iso went pale in the face, despite being hard to tell from the distance.

"...Are you ok, Princess?"

Libra nodded, her expression sullen as her gaze met the ground.

"Yeah… but I'm not sure what to do now… What do I tell Stardust?"

Stardust, finally working up the courage to interject and make his presence known, planted his talons to the stone and stepped into the light.

"_An introduction would be nice._"

_[-[_ _NEXT TRACK : C418 - SUBWOOFER LULLABY_ _]-]  
_  
Stardust usually enjoyed the spotlight, only finding a few times where the peering gazes of others turned his stomach aflop; most of those times due to him landing in trouble, a few special cases with fessing up and such. He did not savor the nausea that usually accompanied the spotlight, preferring rather to go about such ventures casually, and without confrontation.

This was not one of those times. Stardust watched as the two shifted from sudden and immediate apprehension and slight terror, to the dawnings of realization, and from there… Iso's expression drifted down from wonder to somber quietness, looking to Libra worriedly.

Libra stood onto her talons, slowly as if in a haze. She swallowed hard, dread dripping down her scales almost like sweat. Her prismatic eyes found Stardust's gaze, holding a plethora of unspoken emotions behind them. Stardust drew forwards slowly, just as Libra did. He sat down before her, daring not to say another word until she did.

Libra reached out gingerly, stroking Stardust's cheek with her talon and a wistful yet joyous smile on her snout.

"Stardust… I'm so sorry we haven't met sooner."

Stardust gently held her talons in his own.

"Me too… You're my sister, aren't you?"

Libra simply nodded. "My name is Libra… Libra Quasar. I'm your big sister, Stardust."

The young Starwing Prince knew from the moment he heard Iso call her Princess that this dragon was more than likely his sister, but hearing her say it out loud affirmed something previously unfulfilled. He stepped forwards and brought his arms around Libra in a tight hug.

"It's so nice to meet you, sis… I'm sorry for hiding, it's just-"

Stardust felt the air suddenly push out from his lungs a bit, Libra's arms wrapping around him in return and squeezing much harder than he anticipated. Her body trembled ever so softly, prompting Stardust to squeeze back tighter and nose his snout in her shoulder.

"You have nothing to apologize for, little brother… I'm just…"

Libra stood nose to nose with Stardust, doing all she could to not seem like a teary eyed little Princess.

"...You have no idea how happy I am to see you…"

The two embraced once more, neither one daring to let go of each other. Iso stood aside respectfully, the tiniest of grins evident on his maw.

"I'm glad to see you too sis, I just…"

Stardust felt the tiniest bit guilty for the words he spoke next.

"I… Honestly didn't know you existed until now…"

Libra's gaze fell to the floor, releasing Stardust from the hug.

"Stardust… How much did you hear?"

The two sat back down around the light, Stardust and Libra sitting side by side.

"I heard him call you Princess… Something about the Omega and the Starcastle, and also that you were on the run. Other than that… I don't know much else."

Libra and Iso glanced at each other briefly, before Iso prodded up to Stardust respectfully.

"Prince Stardust, I am Commander Iso. Libra's personal guardian and protector." He regards her with a proud and pleased smile. "Though usually, she needs no such thing. She's one of the most fierce and capable dragons I've ever met."

Libra's grin could not have been kept down, no matter how much she tried. Stardust found it infectious, smiling to himself.

"Great to meet you, Iso. I am Prince Stardust Nebula, as you uh… Probably already know."

Libra's eyebrows furrowed a bit. "Stardust Nebula? You've chosen your title name?"

"Mhm!" Stardust nodded happily. "Dad got me all registered in the ship's Royal Access Profile."

"Already, huh?" The Princess' worries slowly dialed down to the back of her mind. "I bet they're glad to see you."

"Yeah, and me too! It's…" Stardust hesitated for a moment. "...it's really nice to finally see where I came from…"

The guilt that washed over Libra resulting from that one sentence hit Libra in the gut harder than she anticipated. "I can only imagine…"

Stardust, reading her emotions rather easily, felt compelled to prod further.

"...Libra… My parents never told me what happened… Why I grew up here instead of with them… why I was left here... "

Again, Iso and Libra exchanged apprehensive glances. Libra held Stardust's talons firmly but lovingly.

"They didn't? They didn't tell you anything?"

Stardust simply shook his head. "Nothing…" He met Libra's eyes with a pleading look. "...do you know what happened?"

Stardust was unable to discern the emotion behind Libra's eyes right then. Something about it told him he shouldn't ask, but Libra spoke up anyways.

"...Yeah. I know what happened… And if you really want to know, I'll gladly explain everything…"

"Can you show me in your head? We could uh… do that Astral Interface thingy. " Stardust offered as helpfully as he could. "It would probably be a lot easier that way, I've done it before."

Libra again thought to herself, mulling over the idea for a bit. She nodded once more, then looked to Iso.

"Iso… Can you make sure we aren't disturbed?"

Iso nodded and bowed respectfully.

"I'll keep a lookout. Take your time."

Libra and Stardust nodded, retreating a bit further back into the cave to a more comfortable spot. The two said face to face, Libra looking quite nervous.

"Alright, I know you've done this kind of stuff before Stardust, but this one is gonna be… A lot. It might get intense, and if it does, just let me know and I'll pull back. Alright?"

Stardust took a deep breath, ever so slightly unnerved by her warning but eager to proceed on anyways.

"Ok… I trust you sis."

Libra swallowed again, planting her head against Stardust's.

"Thank you… I hope you always do…"

Before Stardust had much time to contemplate the meaning of that, the two were sucked into the shared mindscape, the two meeting in the boundless void.

'_In order for you to understand the rest of the story…'_

Libra's voice carried through Stardust's mind, echoing as memory swirled in Stardust's vision.

'_We have to start a bit further back.'_

Stardust felt an overwhelming force set his mind back into oblivion… Piecing back together a memory in which he stood behind Libra's eyes. He felt his mind try and reach out for control again, body tensing up and panicking at the overwhelmingly powerful sensation.

'_Don't fight it, Stardust. Just let go…'_

Libra's energy caressed Stardust's mind and energy, soothing and guiding with familiar comfort. Stardust's body settled in place again, letting himself slip away into the seemingly infinite cradle of Libra's memory.

And Stardust could've sworn that everything that existed around him dissipated into nothingness… and he lay afloat in the vastness of space.

_[-[ __PAUSE TRACK LIST_ _]-]_

**-X-**

'_Let it go…_'

All Libra could sense was the void. Inky blackness surrounded her, eyes shut in the vastness of space. She let all of her energy, restless and pent up, bleed out from her consciousness and body…

'_Let everything go…_'

Her momentum in the boundless void kept her rotating backwards, spinning just fast enough to spread the center of gravity through her body.

'_Clear your mind…_'

Libra felt her wings stretch out a bit, radiating her astral energy from the mesmerising patterns under them. The prismatic scales shifting colors down her back evolved faster and faster, and the emptiness in Libra's mind seemed to… expand.

'_...and become one with everything…_'

In the space surrounding her, there lay no matter for sound to pass through, no physical way to hear anything. Yet, in Libra's brain, she heard it nonetheless… at first the cacophony of sonic voices lay distant, faint in the cosmos unreachable. A symphony dissonant and strange, but musical as it resonated in every neuron up and down the Starwing's body.

'_...become… one…_'

The young Princess nearly drifted off into slumber with the sound cascading through her. All that surrounded her now was cosmic bliss, sensation beyond experience… and the strange yet beautiful noise that brought her deeper into another layer of reality came closer…

And closer still…

"**Lieutenant Iso to Libra, come in.**"

Libra snapped upwards, her head violently rearing up as if waking from a nightmare. Her head swam with thought once more after being empty for her meditative state, and everything settled back into place; stars where they were all along, and a few planets acting as markers on a map. Her second or so of readjustment set her back in her body, and another few seconds allowed emotion to flood through.

The first of which, unyielding anger.

Libra tapped a few buttons on her black modular armband, creating a force field bubble of oxygen around her head and neck.

"_I THOUGHT I SAID __UNINTERRUPTED__, ISO. _ONE HOUR FOR ASTRAL MEDITATION_, UNINTERRUPTED._"

Though she could not see him, Libra knew Iso cringed in recoil on the other end of the signal.

"**I know Princess, I deeply apologize. Your mother-**"

Now that Libra could breathe again, an overexaggerated sigh blew through the contained air.

"What could she POSSIBLY want now? She's had me run all over this star forsaken quadrant on her errands!"

"**I relayed your request for uninterrupted silence as you requested-**"

"It's been 4 minutes."

"**-so it must be important.**"

That much, Libra could not deny. Aries definitely had Libra busy, but she respected her wishes for relaxation. The two's relationship suffered from some strain in this particularly busy time in the Starwing Expansion, neither mother nor daughter at true fault.

Libra heaved another sigh, this time more out of appreciation for air than of aggravation.

"Alright… where does she need me?"

"**Aboard the Voidwatcher, Medical Bay 2.**"

"Aye. I'll be there shortly."

"**Copy. Be safe out there, I'm on my way as well.**"

"Copy. Libra out."

Libra tapped her wrist comm, disconnecting the communicator. With one more tap, the air bubble around her head collapsed as she blew out her breath. She spread her wings, collecting the starlight that struck them and propelling herself just behind her.

Turning around brought into sight a fleet of starships, headed off by the regal and imposing Starcastle, and followed by around 20 or so smaller vessels and cruisers. Each ship lit up their own section of space with ambient lighting, swarmed by free flying Starwings and the background colors of the radiant nebula morphing in color and surrounding them in a cavalcade of space dust. Libra dove in between the dragons and ducked underneath the positively monolithic spaceships.

Off to the left side of the armada lay a smaller circular vessel, oblong in width and sharp in some edges creating the appearance of a giant draconic eye. Along the side lay inscribed "_**SWFC VOIDWATCHER**_", the inscription glowing a bright white. Libra entered through a side air hatch, depressurizing the containment room before finally entering the ship's maintenance halls.

Libra shook the cold off her scales, the warmth of synthetic starlight raining down from the roof. She strode down the halls, talons clacking against the floor grating as it echoed across it's metal. A few minutes of wandering proved pointless considering Libra hadn't any idea where she was really going, and only after coming across the server maintenance door did she stumble across another dragon. They stood with their claws on a wall data pad, oddly frozen with their gaze blank.

"Hey," Libra padded over to them. "Do you know how to get to Medbay 2 from here? I can never remember how to get around this blasted ship."

No response. Not even a blink. Libra paused for a moment, feeling around for this dragon's energy. Being a gifted user of her Astral Powers, she had the ability to feel every single entity's energy aboard the ship if she so desired, and yet… from this dragon in front of her she felt nothing.

And in that moment, Libra stood back petrified.

"...How…" She circled around the dragon that stood frozen. "...how are you doing that…?"

The Princess finally gained the courage to draw closer, still seeing no movements or energy. She circled towards their face, daring to touch their face. Libra felt a coldness tingle across the pads of her paw as she tilted the dragon's head towards her… and swirling in their eyes lay every color into a single pool that Libra couldn't seem to take her eyes off of. Checking this odd dragon's back, they only displayed an off white down their chromatic neck and back scales…

Starwing physiology dictated that an Astral-born Starwing displayed their energetic spectrum along their scales, primarily along their back and tail, sometimes along arms and legs and even faces. Any place that a Starwing displayed their spectrum should only be able to flash any color within their boundaries, a white-red Starwing would only appear white-red, a full spectrum Starwing can be any color, and so on. Libra not only witnessed a Starwing that emitted no energy that could be felt naturally, but one that displayed mixed signatures totally different from one another.

According to Starwing Bioenergetics, this was not only fully impossible naturally, but would result in neural overload as a result of _energetic frequency collision_ and more than likely _fry a dragon's brain_. Libra certainly felt nothing in their mind from where she stood, their body stood stiff as if every nerve in their being roared with electric fury. She could think of only one way to find out for sure what was going on… slowly she pushed her head to this strange dragon's forehead, and connected their minds together.

Now, since Stardust viewed these memories from inside Libra's mind, what lay between Libra and this other dragon's mindmeld was all too fuzzy and blurred… He could only feel impressions of vast swirling power, a trapped mind within a fractured body, and Libra's attempt to break through their stillness. After an amount of time indeterminate to Stardust, whether an hour or a second, Libra broke from their mind and the two promptly collapsed on the floor; Libra panting heavily and cradling her head, the mystery dragon nearly passed out from exhaustion.

Wildly Libra scooted over next to them, shaking their head in an attempt to keep them awake and lucid.

"HEY, _NO _NONONONO,** STAY WITH ME**."

The other dragon's eyes returned to their normal spectrum, offwhite and greys dominating their spectrum. A detail particularly etched into Libra's memory was their face… a face containing horror unknown, but tired and weakened from time. Their voice, raspy but predominantly female, croaked out while they grabbed Libra's talons weakly.

"_Al… Alpha Codex… Entry… 37… JS4…_"

"Wait, wait what?" Libra cradled the other dragon's head tenderly, opening an audio recorder on her arm pad. "Alpha Codex, Entry 37 JS4- _what __**is **__that?_"

Their eyes unfocused again, glazing over.

"..._it's_..." And with their fading life force, they spoke only once more.

"..._too much_…"

Libra held onto the talons of a dying dragon, intently watching their expression slack from horror to nothingness. Continually frozen were their eyes, glossing over further with only grey. Stardust sat from the metaphysical backseat in Libra's mind, but somewhere in there he had the awful feeling… This was the first time Libra had ever witnessed another Starwing die in her arms.

And the worst feeling yet came from Libra's mind in real time… this would not be the last time either.

"...Alpha Codex…"

Libra forced herself to snap out of it, refusing to let the creeping horror wash over her any longer. She laid the dragon against the wall, moving to the data pad on the ship's wall. The last thing the previous dragon brought up still displayed on the screen, data entries from the Voidwatcher's Deep Space Energetic Reflector Dish (DSERD). Libra scrolled through the entries, noting their entry numbers and designations. The last one opened read:

**ALPHA CODEX - ENTRY 36 - LR83**

Scrolling forwards through the list of entries, she was greeted with this:

**ALPHA CODEX - ENTRY 38 - PFT06**

"It's gone…"

Scrolling back and forwards revealed it was no mistake, the aforementioned entry either did not exist or as Libra suspected right away, it was deleted. Looking back down at the dead dragon brought back the distant memory of her mother summoning her here in the first place.

"Alright mom, you wanted my attention-" Libra switched the data pad screen over from the codex entries to ship schematics, uploading the route to her arm pad. She stretched her talons out to the body leaning on the wall, summoning her energy to lift it up along with her.

"You have my attention and more."

Surprisingly it was but a few short hallways down to the main corridors, a few more halls from there to the main medbays. The glances of shock and fright from the body floating a foot or so behind her garnered more attention the farther in she went. Approaching the halls where the medbays lay, a few medics and one very concerned scientist tracked alongside her.

"Princess," The skittish scientist pushed her glasses up her nose. "Your mother is awaiting you in Medbay 2-"

"I know." Libra replied without a second glance. "Something tells me she's gonna want to see this."

"That's the thing, we-" Before this scientist could respond, Libra opened the door to the second medbay and strode inside with the body in tow.

Upon entering the medbay, a row of raised beds lined the walls, all but one empty. The first bed available lay surrounded by medical examiners, where upon Libra's arrival, their collective heads swiveled around to meet her. Queen Aries prowled to the scene from around the nearby corner, her expression nearing frantic.

"_There_ you are!" Aries almost galloped towards Libra, only stopping short noting the body Libra carried with her powers. Confusion spread across her mind like fire, burning next with apprehension.

"Wait… why do you have another body with you?"

"I'm sorry," Libra nearly let the cadaver alongside her fall to the ground. "What do you mean _another?_"

"My Queen," The same scientist that followed Libra in, placed herself between the two royals. "It seems there's been another death in the same fashion as the first, this time on the other side of the ship."

The scientists and medical examiners at the first bed quickly rushed over to the second body, picking them up and gingerly setting them on the adjacent bed. This allowed Libra to rush over to the first body that previously lay surrounded.

This dragon was quite different from the first, a bulkier male with streaks of crimson and dark green across his snout and back, stretching down his shoulders too. He lay on his back, a few white patches connected to the screen above the bed displayed his nonexistent vitals, similarly across his forehead. Everything read static, indicating bodily death and brain death.

What struck Libra to her core were his eyes, opened wide in his last moments of life. They conveyed the same overwhelmed terror that Libra recognized moments before, and worst of all were their color… grey.

Total grey, no color at all. Just like the first body. The more she stared at those lifeless eyes, the further Libra felt a stab of panic in her consciousness.

'Another one?'

The Princess couldn't take her eyes away from the body.

'How? Why? What's going on here?'

More and more Libra dwelled on the nature of their deaths, the force she felt grip that poor dragon's mind resonated in her own. Something about it all troubled her further.

'What…' The question she dared not ask rang further in the back of her head.

'_What did they find?_'

**-X-**

The next thing Stardust knew, he was ripped from Libra's point of view back into his own body with an overwhelming panic gripping his body. Heaving a few hard breaths and stumbling back, he caught a glimpse of Libra doing the same thing. Seeing her doing so helped reality set back into place, the dampness of the stony cave settling around him and providing a more comforting backdrop. He sat against the wall and gripped it with his talons, as Libra padded over to hold him by the shoulders.

"Hey! Stardust, it's okay!" Stardust had no trouble finding the tinge of panic in Libra's voice and stature, calming him down some. "I'm so sorry, I… I wasn't... ready to bring it all back up again, it's my fault."

Stardust wrapped his arms around his sister tightly, nodding to himself.

"I… I don't blame you…" Libra squeezed the living daylights out of her brother once more, prompting him to do the same. "That was… I don't even know how to describe that…"

"Me neither. Even after all this time." Finally the Princess let go, and padded back some to the center of the cave. Stardust followed suit.

"But… all that… what did it mean? Was there more?"

"Sadly yes," Libra made herself comfy on the stone ground. "Too much more… I didn't know it'd still hit so hard."

Stardust laid a paw on her back in sympathy. "We don't have to go back if it's too much. I don't want you to-"

"No," Libra shook her head firmly. "It's leading up to something, I promise. It's… it's important."

If Stardust didn't know any better, he could've sworn Libra had something to prove to herself. Iso peeked in from around the corner.

"You've only been in there a minute or two, by the way."

"Really?" Stardust glanced outside to see the night still hung in the air where it was before. "Felt like we were in there for at least an hour…"

"Time dilation often has strange effects in memory interactions." Libra found a faint smile upon her maw thinking about her past. "You can stay in memory lock for hours on end, and it could only be a few minutes in real time."

"The danger lies in losing yourself," Iso spoke up from further ahead in the cave. "And it's easier than you'd think."

"Enough of that, Iso. We don't need to scare him." Libra nosed up to Stardust again. "Do you want to try again, Star?"

Something about Libra's casual mention of Stardust's nickname and the conversation-like tone in the room set Stardust back into a trusting mindset. After all, he was among family, was he not?

"Yeah. I trust you, Libra."

...For a second, the Princess had nothing but happy thoughts, hearing her younger sibling admit he trusted her. That's all she really wanted in the end, her family's love and trust. But remembering how the two of them had gotten here in the first place, and the events that transpired those years ago… Her happiness grew tainted with unrelenting guilt, more and more feeling like a spear through her heart. Those words echoed still, painting a plethora of mixed emotions in her mind.

"_I trust you._"

**-X-**

'Well… this is it.'

Peacemaker gracefully landed on an outcropping of stone, overlooking half sunken stone buildings and jagged edges erupting from the turbulent seas rising over them. The once impressive City of Night now lay crumbling amongst the ocean's grasp, a few stray buildings emergent from the sea. A great calmness permeated the ocean air, something about time's relentless exertion eroding the city into rubble brought a sense of stillness to Peacemaker, Darkstalker's point of view more sorrowful than anything.

'Indeed… Even as rubble, I recognize it well.'

Peacemaker sat himself down, shivering as the howling winds of the night blew in off the sea.

'Seems… colder than I… well, _you_... remember.'

'This place had its fair share of cold. Both chill, and heartlessness.'

Peacemaker couldn't argue with that. Darkstalker had seen and taken part in the heartless acts that took place all those years ago… but Peacemaker held hope that this time, the Nightwing city would be different.

'Well… this time we're going to be involved, and we're going to learn from our mistakes.'

'We, as in…?'

'Well, firstly you, Darkstalker. But the rest of the Nightwings too! This place is going to be a fresh start, a new mark in Nightwing History!' Peacemaker set his sights on the horizon ahead, a faint shimmer of purple indicating the stretch of dawn to come. Despite watching straight ahead, Peacemaker also looked inside himself at Darkstalker.

'And… you get a chance to redeem yourself.'

Darkstalker scoffed, albeit with a smile he couldn't deny.

'Redeem myself… I thought that's why I got transformed into you.'

'Well you're not me anymore. You're still you, mostly.'

'Kind of missing one really important part.'

'You KNOW what I mean.'

Even if he remained trapped in Peacemaker's mind, Darkstalker retained all his mental faculties and consciousness. His memories, his persona, all of it remained intact. He certainly was thankful for that, and spending a few thousand years under a mountain taught him greatly of patience. Darkstalker didn't relish the situation he found himself in, but could not abate the feeling that this position he found himself in perhaps changed him for the better; an idea he greatly disapproved of at first, but found himself opening up to more and more.

'...I know what you mean… but I can't shake the feeling I'm becoming more like you each day.'

Peacemaker's maw steadily blossomed into a satisfied grin.

'You like it, don't you?'

'I'm _still_ trying to find a way to kill you, in case you're interested.'

'Oh shut up. Are you going to help me raise this city from the ocean or not?'

Darkstalker found himself on his feet again, padding around in Peacemaker's head.

'Considering I'm strongly against using your animus powers to rebuild an entire city by yourself, a feat not even the most powerful of magical dragons could accomplish without going absolutely insane, no. I'm _not_ going to help you with this one.'

'You are LITERALLY the one who told me not to be afraid of my magical abilities.'

'SMALLER PIECES, PEACEMAKER! You enchanted a mirror, which was good, but now you're making the jump to an entire **CITY.**'

'Then HELP ME!'

Darkstalker growled a sigh of displeasure to himself, thinking this over more clearly to himself. Had this been anyone else, Darkstalker would never even think of approving. Of all the Animus dragons he'd known in his life, he could honestly say none of them had the purity of heart that Peacemaker possessed. He could trust this dragon with their powers, unlike the animus dragons of his day. Darkstalker could see almost no parallels between his father and Peacemaker, even when he knew everything going on inside Peacemaker's head. He saw no hidden motives, no dark intentions, not even a selfish thought. Darkstalker honestly had no idea how the dragonet did it.

Then his train of thought drifted towards the now. What would happen if he _did_ successfully raise up the city? The powers of an animus dragon didn't directly make them go insane, as Darkstalker well knew. The pressures of its usage and the sanity of its user went hand in hand, and with no one to guide them and let them know they'd gone too far, they may very well go off the rails. Visions of Albatross and his rampage flickered through his mind like a flame. But Peacemaker had Darkstalker as a guide, and his pure of heart reassured Darkstalker well. The whole scenario posed a thought experiment that Darkstalker knew not how to answer… he only knew that this dragon he resided in proved him wrong about a great many truths he assumed about the nature of animus magic.

As Darkstalker looked out over the sunken city through Peacemaker's eyes, he finally chose a side of the argument in his head.

_[-[ __ENGAGE TRACK : C418 - SWEDEN ]-]_

'...Tell me, Peace… How do you intend to go about this?'

Peacemaker hadn't a response readied.

'Well… I would uh… just say the magic words. Rebuild the city as it once was, or something like that…?'

'Are you prepared for how it will feel channeling all the energy through you?'

Peacemaker tilted his head in curious confusion. 'Wait, what do you mean how it will feel?'

Darkstalker prodded forth to the front of Peacemaker's head. 'What's the largest thing you've enchanted?'

'I think it was that metal door I fixed, for that Sandwing Palace.'

'Do you remember the tingling in your talons? The slight strain on your arms? You spoke the words, sure, but animus magic takes more than words to carry out an action.'

Peacemaker shifted in place some. 'You mean I'm gonna feel all the magic I'm using…?'

Darkstalker reached out with his conscious mind to sort of guide Peacemaker's mind.

'All animus dragons learn in time, that the most potent use of their magic comes not with words, but with their will.'

Peacemaker watched as the waves crashed against the shore, smashing upon the craggy spires that stood from the water.

'...So if I think hard enough, I can bring the entirety of the city up without speaking a word…?'

'Not think. _Will._ You have to use your magic as an extension of yourself, your willpower and the animus energy coursing through you as one.'

Darkstalker's mind gently guided the dragonet to feel the extension of magic in his talons and paws. A faint tingling coursed through his body, magical energy resonating within him. The color dotted Nightwing looked down at his talons in wonder. 'Woah…'

Darkstalker nodded. 'Words are but a method of taming the magic around you.' He did his best to try and poke Peacemaker's mind. 'But harnessing it with nothing but your will and soul… _that _is how you raise cities.'

'I… I see…' Peacemaker's new understanding of his magic brought up feelings of unease, wondering how powerful an animus dragon he really was. A moment's worth of self doubt was all that was needed to make Peacemaker hesitate. Darkstalker stopped him before he could go much further down that train of thought.

'That feeling of power, raw and untamed… _that_ is what turns dragons insane. But you… you know this, and you are cognizant of what can happen. I _know_ you won't let it consume you, I'm sure of it.' Darkstalker's tone turned more empathetic and assuring, a feeling he had yet to grow accustomed to.

'...You're one of the few dragons I've ever met who I truly believe in, Peacemaker.'

For the past two days, Peacemaker has had to live with the embodiment of his evil past in his own head; sharing the same memories and the same headspace, driving Peacemaker crazy. He in no way ever thought that he'd be capable of befriending this megalomaniac, especially when he knew everything about him.

But Peacemaker found himself in the uncompromisingly heart wrenching moment of being truly touched by Darkstalker's words. This dragon capable of so much darkness bared his heart to Peacemaker, and found himself connecting to the one dragon he'd sworn himself an enemy of. For Darkstalker to say this and mean it as profoundly as he did… Peacemaker's eyes fluttered with tears, streaming down his neck and behind him as the cold wind drove them back. The young dragonet spoke out loud this time:

"...Thank you… Darkstalker… If… If I'm being honest… I believe in you too."

Darkstalker… smiled. The monster that reached within his very soul and gripped his heart had no power, as Darkstalker felt a pang of happiness like none before. He cherished such a feeling immensely.

Of course, Darkstalker did everything in his power to ignore it, and went right back to his usual facade of impervious wit.

'Oh moons, knock it off. We have a city to reconstruct, don't we?'

Peacemaker nodded in confirmation, rubbing his talons together. He glanced around to find a place to start, but something caught his eye in one of the ruined buildings…

_[-[_ _STOP__ TRACK_ _]-]_

'Hang on… what is that?'

The sunrise in the distance refracted just enough light across the sea to bounce in the broken room, producing a faint glittering. Peacemaker knew there was definitely something in there.

'I don't know…' Darkstalker's interest had been piqued as well. 'Nightwing Architecture rarely incorporated reflective elements.'

'Well,' Peacemaker leapt off his stone ridge, gliding into the diagonally leaning dark building. 'Let's check it out then, shall we?'

As Peacemaker landed in the window, he took stock of the broken building. A few pieces of wooden furniture had been reduced down to moldy nubs, tables laying broken with bits and pieces everywhere. The roof partially collapsed down and knocked out the wall closest to the sea, leaving debris to collect at the bottom of the room. But right in the middle of the room, in a crack in the stone floor, lay a simple, silver bracelet with four tiny sapphires embedded all around it.

Peacemaker carefully picked it up, inspecting it thoughtfully.

'Huh… That's pretty.'

'That it is,' Darkstalker noted. 'But it looks familiar.'

'Could it have belonged to someone you knew? Clearsight, Hope?'

'No, neither of them were too fond of jewelry. This looks… almost Icewing in design…'

'Icewing? Maybe it belonged to Arctic-'

An intense realization smacked Peacemaker and Darkstalker in the face simultaneously. Peacemaker nearly lost balance.

'Wait… _Wait_, _ICEWING_. Darkstalker is this-'

'That _IS_.'

Peacemaker held the bracelet to the sun, watching the reflections shimmer and glisten off the still pristine silver.

'_Peacemaker, you just found one of the lost Gifts of Diplomacy_.'

**-X-**

"Core Division, Status Report!"

The bridge of the Starcastle, after their encounter with Libra's Pirate Command Ship (dubbed the Omega Cruiser), bristled with more dragons at various stations than Tau had ever seen before. Taking her place at the central command station, a squared off hologram table with a few different data pads all in a row, she brought up visual comms to the ship's Stellar Core Sector. Ascella, the binary twins, brought up their individual screens in response.

"Core integrity holding within 87% modulation threshold, stellar mass decreasing steadily."

"We're re-routing the matter converters to cycle through the stellar chamber, which should give us a boost in power."

Tau nods while switching screens to overall ship status.

"We're gonna need it, we're still working on restoring external communications across the board."

Xenon piped up from his station to Tau's left. "Hull damage has been regenerated, integrity holding steady. Focusing energetic diffusion towards system function."

Neon spoke in turn from the other side. "Engines were hit pretty badly though, that's gonna take some time. Might need some manual repair crew down there."

"Don't tell me we're adrift, Neon." Tau brought up the rear end of the ship, bringing into view the massive engine outputs. "Orion is NOT going to like that."

"No ma'am, Stabilizer engines and Gravity Flux systems are still online, Stellar Warp is crippled for the moment though."

Tau rubbed her snout tiredly, taking a sip from her mug of warm beverage. "Better than nothing, I suppose…"

Next she flicked to a different screen, monitoring overall life signs. "Sadr, injury report?"

A dragon directly behind her at a different station spoke up, light blue and off white streaming down his back. "7 injuries across two sectors, no fatalities."

"Good thing we have a skeleton crew." Tau scrolled once more on the holographic display to comms. "Comms, report."

After a moment of silence, and a few heads turning towards her, Tau remembered her role.

"Wait, comms. That's me."

Sifting through the data and automated damage reports, Tau grumbled to herself annoyedly.

"Well that's no good…" She cleared her throat and announced more officially the damages.

"Radio frequency oscillation is crippled, Astral Spectralization Codex is down until the SM Engines are online, and since no one aboard has significant Astral Abilities, we're basically down for the count..."

"We'll see about increasing the ship's energy pool," Ascella Beta mentioned over the comm. "But we can't make any promises."

"Aye. Let me know if you have any other ideas."

"Can do. Ascella out."

After the tone of the comm cutting out, Tau sat back in her chair, taking another sip and sighing in thought. Sadr, Xenon and Neon turned to her, all awaiting orders.

"Regenerative capabilities mark system restoration at 4 planetary rotations out, just around 94 hours." Neon chimed in helpfully. "Until then… what do we do?"

When Tau first rose to the rank of General from Fornax's passing, the opportunity weighed on her mind as heavily as a Star's gravity well. She'd been a lieutenant for what seemed like only a month, adjusting to being a bridge crew member slowly but surely. After her rank up, Tau quickly learned that with leadership over a vessel such as this one, the King and Queen's Royal Flagship, an extreme amount of pressure lorded over her at all times.

Her gaze fell down to her reflection in the polished black metal, the seafoam green and turquoise in her eyes and snout scales shifted ever so slowly.

'C'mon Tau… you got this, you need to be a leader right now. Dragons are counting on you to lead them...'

Tau steeled herself once more, rising from her chair.

"OKAY, until we get comm systems back online, we're essentially on our own here. The Omega intercepted our transmissions and scrambled communications in the area, so we weren't able to inform them of the attack. We need someone to get to the surface, contact the King or Queen OR Sentinel Squad, and act as a messenger."

"There's another way to bring transmissions back online," Sadr spoke up once more, scrolling through his data station. "We'd need to plant a series of radio transmitters on the planet, but each of our data stations come equipped with custom frequency receivers that should be able to pick up the long range transmissions."

"Good," Tau pointed her talon in response. "That'll work. How many would we have to set up?"

"Hard to say, I'd recommend at least five, planted in strategic locations to broadcast the frequencies evenly."

"Right. Last time I checked in with Aries they've established base camp and replication matrices, so all we need to do is go down there and inform them of the plan." Tau clasped her talons together and glanced around the room.

"Who wants to go to a new planet?~"

_**(Meanwhile…)**_

"She did WHAT?"

Sheratan's disbelief resounded through the cave, she and Hamal tending to Caelum's broken leg. Hamal and Caelum both shushed her, doing their best not to disturb their King and Queen in the other room.

"Sorry… but, seriously? An Astral Singularity?"

Caelum nodded solemnly, wincing in pain as Hamal applied a surgical scan from his medical tool kit. "Ngh… yeah, she had to, otherwise we would've been blown to bits."

"Or, she would have initiated a chain reaction which would turn the whole planet into a star through-"

"Hamal," Sheratan stopped him mid sentence. "We know what could've happened."

"I'm just saying." After viewing the scan on his data pad and wincing to himself, he set it aside. "Given the situation she was put in, I don't blame her. But still, a singularity on the _surface of a planet_…"

"She saved my life." Caelum laid back and drew in a deep breath, doing his best to ignore the pain. "I'm more than grateful for that."

Sheratan set her eyes on the scan Hamal had taken, then glanced to Caelum. "I bet… your leg on the other hand-"

"I'm gonna need to reset the bone." Hamal offered a smile. "Only hurts for a moment, then I stick you with some QuikGen and you're all set."

The Science Officer paled in the face at "reset the bone". He squirmed in his seat for a moment, taking a deep breath to settle him down. "Alright… let's get it over with."

Sheratan sat herself besides Caelum and grasped his talons. "Squeeze my paw, it'll help."

Caelum nodded and squeezed tight, an appreciative smile upon his maw. "Thank you…"

Hamal sat himself at Caelum's hindpaws, feeling up his thigh for the fracture as Caelum covered his maw to silence himself. Once the round of Hamal's talons felt along the ridges of broken bone, Caelum tensed up all at once and squeezed his eyes shut.

"hMMFH!"

Hamal had a faint grin on his snout. "_There_ you are. Ok, I'm gonna count to three, and set it back in place. It's gonna be a pull out, and then push in." He gripped Caelum's leg gingerly, looking up at him. "Ready?"

Caelum nodded with the expression of someone very much not ready for what was about to happen, while Sheratan held Caelum's paw a bit tighter.

Hamal readied himself.

"Alright… one!"

With a quick turn clockwise, Hamal performed the pull/push action so quickly Caelum had barely any time to react. All that was heard was a soft squish and crunch, with Hamal relinquishing his leg immediately after. Caelum froze in place soundlessly, a single tear dripping from the corner of his eye.

"Cae? You ok bud?" Sheratan leaned in after a few moments of silence.

Caelum finally released his breath slowly and surely, tapping his foot on his non-broken leg rather hard as he nodded.

"Ffffffhmmm… Mmmhmmm… Yeah, that was… fun."

"Wait," Hamal pulled out an oblong cylindrical container, almost like an epipen. He pressed a button on the side, causing a two inch needle to burst from the bottom. "One more thing!"

Again, before Caelum had time to react, Hamal thrust the needle down into his thigh, directly atop the point of fracture where a squirt of gene based regeneration serum filled the cavity. Caelum nearly burst up from his spot, quite loudly shouting as well.

"_yYA__**AAAH**_-"

Sheratan's paw over his maw quickly muffled his howling, followed by Hamal taking out the needle and backing away.

"Alright, done! No more, I promise."

Caelum immediately stood on his good leg, clutching his now healing thigh while he hopped around and muttered obscenities under his breath. Sheratan and Hamal kept their distance until Caelum finally released his leg, flexing it back and forth as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.

"Phew… thank you, Hamal. That feels _so_ much better."

Before Hamal could respond in kind, the approaching silhouettes of two imposing dragons tore his attention away. Aries and Orion stood in the cave entrance, both with solemn expressions. Boteïn followed behind them, doing his best to keep a neutral expression but unable to wipe an anxious tinge from his expression.

"Caelum, is your leg better?" Aries spoke first, prompting Caelum to nod politely.

"Yes my liege, I'm healed."

"Excellent." Orion stepped forwards into the cave, taking mental stock of the base elements Sheratan and Hamal had set up. "You'll stay here with me at base camp, we'll figure out what's been going on from here."

"Sheratan, Hamal, Boteïn." Aries motioned to the three, who stood at attention immediately. "You're with me." Once they had a better look at the Queen's expression, they could see the spark of hope that remained within the somber exterior.

"We need to find my daughter _before_ the meeting of the Queens."

The trio of Starwing Sentinels nodded and saluted.

"_Yes Ma'am!_"

**-X-**

"It's a lot to take in, I know."

Winter, Qibli and Moon sat in the cabin as morning further crept in through the windows, surrounding the hologram device as it powered down. Winter (and his scavenger friend Jun sitting nearby) stood totally stunned and awed by what they'd just witnessed.

"I… That…"

Winter rubbed his chin with his talons. "...I'm not hallucinating, right? I didn't accidentally drink any of Dragonfly's special tea?"

Before either of them had the opportunity to ask, Winter glanced to Jun. "You saw it too?"

Jun nodded slowly, bringing out a journal from his pocket and furiously scribbling in it. Winter sat back down and stared at the fire, while Qibli and Moon scooted just a bit closer.

"They've already made contact with us at Jade Mountain," Moon picked the hologram device and inspected it with fascination. "And it's still just… blows my mind that it's all happening…"

"...Starwings…" Winter bristled his back scales after saying it with his own words. "What… what're they like?"

"Peaceful," Qibli offered. "If anything. Their level of technology is absolutely astounding, and from what I've seen of them, they're quite wise."

"Living among the stars…" Winter glanced back and forth between Qibli and Moon with wonder. "Imagine what they could teach us."

"If the Starwings make good on their intentions of peaceful relationships with Pyrrhia, then who knows what we'd be able to accomplish?" Moon's fascination and idealism resonated with Winter's words.

"We just need to get all the Queens of Pyrrhia on board with the idea," Qibli presented the main problem at hand. "And… we need your help to do so."

By now, Winter's brain worked through the train of thought with the Starwings, and what really was going on here. He regarded Moon and Qibli with a thoughtful glance, unsure of his feelings now.

"...You need me to talk to Snowfall."

Moon and Qibli fell silent, sharing a moment of eye contact before nodding slowly.

"You're the only Icewing Royalty we know that's outside Icewing territory, and you know Snowfall on a personal basis." Qibli's tone of voice came out almost as pleading. "From what we know of her… there's no way a non-Icewing would be able to convince her."

"Plus," Moon offered helpfully. "You have your brother Hailstorm to help."

Winter's expression fell from the original high of wonder and awe, to remembrance of his old life, bringing forth a great sadness he'd been running from for a long time.

"Yeah… Hailstorm…"

Moon and Qibli again exchanged glances between each other, this time a bit more worriedly.

"Please, Winter." Moon nosed up to Winter's shoulder. "The whole of Pyrrhia kind of lays in the balance…"

Winter again stood silent, and after a few moments he motioned for Jun for come to him. The scavenger scurried over and effortlessly climbed atop Winter's neck.

"Can I show you guys something?"

The two nodded, following him as he stood and walked to the door. A short wordless trek later, Winter motioned to go ahead of him, where Moon and Qibli encountered a tall wooden fence with a well locked gate. The bottom of the fence had arches up, allowing room for smaller creatures to get across underneath, definitely big enough for a scavenger but just too small for a dragon. Qibli pressed his paw to the gate latch, pushing it down and opening the gate outward.

The trio stepped into a wide clearing of the forest, big enough for a sprawling town of scavengers and a field worth of width between the treeline and the city, allowing dragons like Winter, Qibli and Moon to pad around safely. Moon and Qibli stood and took in the sight of the rather impressive town, while Winter led them to the edge.

"Guys, welcome to Harmony."

Moon and Qibli looked out over the cleanly built scavenger town, both awed at its sheer size. For a town full of rather small beings, the two dragons weren't sure how they didn't spot it before. They would have before hand, had it not been for the tree cover stretched over half the town, providing a bit of camouflage from above so it wouldn't be as obvious to any dragons flying overhead.

As for the town itself, the streets bustled with people and livestock, shoppes lined the mainstreet and most fascinating of all (at least to Qibli), a few onlookers stopped to gawk at the dragons that had entered the town limits, but nobody made a big fuss about it. A good few scavengers even stopped to take a friendly wave at them, to which Qibli and Moon waved back in a daze. Not even the children took to fearing them, a few brave older ones rushed to the edge of the field, just shy of the open grass, all to get a better look at them. Moon didn't know how to feel about the many eyes on her, or even about the hundreds of minds all running around down there. Upon a quick glance inside a few of the residents' surface level emotions, Moon found that their presence even comforted them. The level of trust displayed between the scavenger town and the dragons parading around floored her, prompting her to gaze back at Winter.

"Wow… Winter, this...this is amazing!"

Winter's snout now lay painted with a perplexing measure of pride, peace, but some sort of turmoil evident underneath. Moon dared not to peek inside her friends head, more so out of respect rather than fear of what she would find. Winter, in response, nodded to himself as if pushing away those negative thoughts.

"Thank you Moon, but…" Winter moved on towards the back of the city, coming upon a rather tall tower that reached just above Winter's shoulders. Stone designs of dragons climbing up around it surrounded the windows and vines crawling up the sides, giving it a serenely aged style. Atop this tower lay a platform perfectly suited for a scavenger and dragon to stand face to face, a sort of pavilion providing a roof over the top. Winter stood near the tower with a knowing smile.

"It gets even _better_."

As if on command, two scavengers dressed in similar green and white garb found their way atop the platform from a staircase below. The two approached Winter on the edge of the platform fearlessly. The two looked to be related, or at least similar to each other. The younger male spoke first, giving a hearty wave.

"Hey Winter, what's up?"

Qibli and Moon nearly stumble backwards hearing the scavenger speak in their tongue, prompting the two scavengers to bust out laughing.

"Oh man," The older female spoke next. "That does NOT get old!"

"You-" Qibli, returning to his feet, got quite close to the platform to inspect the strange scavengers. "You guys speak our language?"

"Sure do!" The younger male spoke up once more. "Took me a while, and my sister Rowan is still getting the hang of it, but it's possible!"

Moon stood besides Winter, still taken by surprise at the revelation. Winter just went on to talk to the two scavengers.

"How're things going, Leaf?" Winter nosed the scavenger male gently, Leaf putting his forehead against Winter's snout momentarily like custom.

"Everything's still going smooth, the water supply is clearing up thanks to Dragonfly's efforts."

"I don't know what we'd be doing without her," Rowan remarked thankfully. "She's saved this place more than a few times." Rowan touched her head to Winter's nose as well, the two looking expectantly at Moon and Qibli next. "You gonna introduce us?"

"I'll let them speak for themselves.~" Winter moved aside, letting Qibli and Moon take the stage. Qibli introduced himself first.

"Uh, hey guys. My name is Qibli, it's nice to meet you!"

Rowan and Leaf furrowed their brows a little, thrown off by his name.

"I'm sorry, Qi-bli?" Leaf repeated the name syllable by syllable, looking to Rowan. "Am I saying that right?"

"Yeah," Qibli nodded. "That's my name."

"Qi-bli…" Rowan repeated the word to herself a few times, then looking to Leaf and saying something in their scavenger language. Leaf responded in kind, still confused as well. He looked back to Qibli and Winter.

"I uh… don't think I know that word yet?"

"Oh," Qibli thought to himself for a moment. "It's like a desert wind, hot and humid."

"Ah!" Rowan piped back up. "So like a-" Moon and Qibli didn't understand what word Rowan used next, but it sounded scavenger like so they went with it.

"Yeah," Winter nodded. "Exactly that."

"Qibli!" Leaf spoke the word once more, knowing exactly what it meant now. "I'm Leaf, it's nice to meet you!"

"I'm Rowan, his older sister." Rowan wrapped her arm around Leaf's shoulder in a sister like fashion, the two tussling for a moment. Leaf and his sister looked between Winter and Qibli, prompting Qibli to look to Winter as well.

"Am I supposed to do the, uh, snout thing?"

"Well, it's up to you." Winter spoke with an oddly knowing and proud smile, like he enjoyed initiating his two best friends into a secret club he started. "The nose touch represents trust between you and the town, so that the scavenger you're talking to knows you won't try and eat them or anything."

"It's always reassuring to us to know we can trust a dragon," Rowan added. "Having you guys on our side takes a load off our minds."

Qibli had to admit, they made a lot of sense on that front. If Qibli were ever in their position the gesture of trust would have great symbolic weight and reassurance. The Sandwing nodded, and slowly nudged Leaf as Winter did earlier, doing the same with Rowan.

"There you go!" Winter's encouraging words brought forth a giddy smile from Qibli, who promptly looked to Moon. Moon, assuming her turn had come, approached the platform with grace.

"Leaf, Rowan, it's lovely to meet you both! My name is Moonwatcher."

"Moon-looker?" Rowan repeated, seeking confirmation. Leaf tapped her arm and repeated the name once more slowly. "Oh, Moon_watcher_. Nice to meet you too!"

Moon nodded, briefly touched noses with the two polite scavengers. Out of curiosity, she briefly poked her mind in the two's heads, only to find their thoughts completely foreign to her… The two thought in a completely different language, and Moon hadn't a clue of what any of it meant. She could only discern feelings and wordless interpretations of what they thought, and for some odd reason that prospect comforted her greatly.

"Hey," Leaf spoke up next. "I actually have to get back to business, y'know being Mayor and all."

"Yes, I'm sure you're dying to get back to paperwork and endless debates with Ivy about future zoning." Rowan turned to the stairs along with Leaf. "Meanwhile, I get to listen to Old Man Arden complain about the smell of manure."

Leaf pat his sister on the back as she stomped down the stairs, stopping short to wave at the trio of dragons. "I'll see you later guys, duty calls!"

"Stay safe Leaf," Winter needn't exactly call out, being quite larger than Leaf. "Azure should be back later to check up on you guys."

With another friendly wave goodbye, Leaf disappeared down the tower, leaving Winter, Qibli and Moon alone again. Winter casually walked around the city again, Qibli and Moon in tow.

"You see the kind of progress we've made here?"

"I have to admit," Qibli replied while watching the bustling town. "This is _really_ cool."

"Winter," Moon stayed beside him each step of the way. "Harmony is incredible. I can see why you're so protective of it."

"Which…" Winter led the two out the gates once more, stopping just outside the gate. "...Is why I don't think I can leave."

Moon and Qibli stopped in their tracks, turning to look at Winter.

"Winter-" Qibli started in protest, cut off again by Winter.

"Guys, you know I would do anything for you, but this…" He gestured to the gate again, the prospect of leaving his progress behind left waves of unease in his mind. "This is my life now, and I can't just get my things and leave."

"We're not asking you to abandon your sanctuary," Moon spoke up next. "We can even stay here to take care of Harmony in your stead!"

"I know you'd rather die than see your uptight family again," Qibli pleaded with his Icewing friend. "But the fate of Pyrrhia rests in your talons, Winter! This is a_ literal call to action_, and we _really_ need your help!"

"FIRSTLY," This was the first time Winter raised his voice in front of the two, bringing back memories of the older, bitter and resentful Winter. "I would _not _rather die than see my family, no matter how much they resent me."

"Fair."

"Second… I... haven't seen Hailstorm in years." Winter let the sentence go from his maw with what sounded to Qibli like disappointment, onto himself more than anything. Winter sounded ashamed to say it aloud. "Even longer for my parents… Snowfall would barely recognize me, and if she did, I don't think I could convince her to leave her palace much less the Icewing Territory."

"That's why we have the hologram message, to present her with news she can't ignore!"

Qibli's plea fell on deaf ears, Winter shaking his head. "Then you can get another Icewing to do it, I know several."

"Are they Icewing royalty who _don't _want to kill us?"

Winter crossed his arms. "Now you're just getting picky."

"_Winter_."

_[-[ __ENGAGE TRACK : C418 - LIVING MICE_ _]-]_

Moon stepped forth, nearly face to face with the Icewing.

"Please… You know how important this is, this can and WILL change _everything!_ It's just… You have to be the one to do it."

Moon stepped closer, pressing her head against Winter's nose. "...For me?"

Something about Moon's presence so close to his own stopped Winter in his tracks, throwing time around him into slowness, and running memories of the past through his mind over and over. He tilted Moon's snout up, forcing the two to meet eye to eye.

Many times before did Winter picture her eyes so close to his, pure emeralds of life to his sore eyes. He could only gaze deeper and sink into the feeling of having her there. A weakness began to emerge from the fractures of his past, a tide unrelenting as it swallowed up everything but her. Winter could only stand there, gazing in her eyes in a wistful haze. He wanted above all for her to understand, and for her to-

"...Moon, can you do something for me?"

The Nightwing nodded slowly but surely. Winter continued.

"I know you're not looking in my head to read my thoughts, because you're my friend and you respect my privacy, but…"

Winter fumbled for Moon's talons, gingerly taking them in his own.

"...Read my mind, because everything I could never explain is trapped in there and it's all of the things you need to see."

Moon honestly didn't know how to feel about Winter holding her talons, feeling a fluttering sensation in her stomach that she hadn't for a long while. She simply nodded, closing her eyes and reaching into Winter's mind.

To describe an Icewing's mind as ice like would be a dramatic understatement. Winter's head went on like a hall of mirrors, with the occasional icicle of emotional trauma hanging down from past memory. Despite this, Moon found Winter's mind in a much more tolerable state than her last reading a few years ago. Previously these mirrors radiated doubt and self hatred, feeding back into each other in a cycle of endless torment. Now, they seemed to just be blank, almost peaceful. What really stood out to Moon was a flurry of snow blowing through, slowed so that every snowflake of a thought remained visible and independent.

Moon sifted through the flakes of memory, each one a frame in a time of his past. Moon could pick out frames of their battle with Darkstalker, time spent with Qibli in the desert, even Peril and Turtle stuck out in a few of them. Notably, the smallest and least noticeable frames were that of his childhood in the Icewing Kingdom, as if pushed back. Most prominent were the happiest memories, ones with his friends and recent ones of his scavenger preservatory. However, Moon looked back to the mirrors once more…

And upon every one of them, Moon's verdant gaze through Winter's eyes remained the constant picture on their surface. Winter's focus seemed to haze over, the snowflakes slowing further until it almost seemed as if Winter's entire mind submerged into water. Moon could tell with certainty that Winter had little control over his thoughts upon seeing her again, every snowflake of memory stopped in time completely the more she focused. And with that rushed forth unease, a world of hurt that Winter so desperately buried where he wouldn't find it; all to have it shaken up in his head like a snowglobe, now that Moon graced his presence once again.

'Do you get it…?'

Winter's conscious voice flooded through his mind, speaking directly to Moon. Moon understood that being back in Winter's life brought up unpleasant memories, but she couldn't understand why he was so adamant on staying put.

'Moon, I'm incredibly happy to see you and Qibli, you know that better than anyone.'

And she did, perhaps better than Winter himself.

'But I've finally been able to move past the hurt… I've found my peace here, I've moved on.'

Now Moon understood more clearly what Winter meant. The minimization of pain, the clarity of mind, and the effects of the past seeping in and dragging him back… Even as Moon looked around in his head, she noted the pangs of regret and doubt freezing the mirrors over, until all that remained were her own eyes staring back.

'Seeing you… I don't know whether I'm losing my sanity or remembering all the pain I tried so hard to forget, but this is more than just me and you, Moon.'

The snowflakes seemed to spread wider and wider by the second, almost encompassing Moon's field of view. She sensed that a panic grew from deep below, a familiar pain that Winter did his utmost to keep suppressed.

'If I go back… I might just lose myself to the things I left behind… and, I…'

Of all the things Moon has seen in Winter's mind, every word and feeling in his scrambled head, none had ever felt as small and scared as he felt now.

'..._I don't know if I can handle that_…'

Never before did Moon wish she could hug someone in their own head, longing to take away a pain she knew not how to treat. Truly she understood what leaving this haven would mean for Winter, and despite what hung in the balance, Moon didn't have the will to ask any further for

Winter to go, and with this new understanding of where he lay mentally, she backed out of his head.

The two stood face to face again, Moon opening her eyes to see Winter's tear-filled and emotional gaze. Her eyes drifted down to the forest floor, squeezing Winter's talons one last time before letting go.

"I… I understand."

Qibli stood by with a somber yet confused expression, daring not to interrupt their time but aching to understand what went on just now. Moon turned to him slowly.

"I think we should head back to Sanctuary."

Qibli's expression contorted with surprise, begging to ask questions about all this but getting the feeling that Moon would explain later. He simply nodded and let Moon turn back to Winter.

"There's a few Icewings who might be able to help," Winter's voice croaked for a second before he cleared it out, taking a short breath to calm himself some. "Though they might take some convincing too."

"Hey," Moon wrapped Winter in a firm hug, letting her head rest on his shoulder. "Me and Qibli can do this, we'll… we'll figure it out. We always do."

Winter paused for a moment as Moon wrapped her arms around him, and gently he laid his arms around her the same. He laid his head on her shoulder, daring to squeeze her to him softly.

"Alright… thank you guys for visiting, I really appreciate it."

Moon pulled back after a moment, allowing Qibli to go in for a hug as well. Winter accepted it gladly, which Qibli thought strange of him at first, but did nothing to question it.

"Of course Winter, we miss you. We'll come and visit, now that we know where you are."

"That sounds great," Winter let go and offered a nostalgic and appreciative smile. "If there's anything else I can do, let me know, ok?"

"Well," Moon reached in her satchel momentarily. "I do have one more thing."

Winter's head swiveled around, as Moon brought out a fabric pouch from the satchel. She handed it to Winter, who accepted it graciously and curiously.

"A gift?"

Moon's smile seemed a bit shy and anxious, prompting Winter's curiosity further.

"Yeah, I saw it in Sanctuary and I thought you might like it."

The Icewing regarded Moon with a thoughtful glance before emptying the bag into his paw. What fell into his talons was a silver pendant, bound in a simple chain to act as a necklace. Winter turned it over in his talons to find the front engraved with a crescent moon, and there his gaze stayed for what felt like an eternity.

"To um… remind you of us, y'know?"

Winter covered his maw with his paw, hoping to conceal his quivering lip. He nodded, holding back tears as best he could.

"I… I love it. Thank you, Moon."

Moon offered one last smile. "Of course… We'll see you around, ok?"

Winter let his talons back down. "I'd like that. Moon, Qibli… thank you guys."

The two stood there for a moment, neither wishing to leave, but as the sun drew further in the sky and illuminated the heavens into daylight they could wait no longer. Moon sighed to herself, turning aside to the road back to Sanctuary.

"Take care, Winter."

As Moon turned around, Qibli turned with her but not before glancing back to his Icewing friend.

"We'll… see you around. Be safe."

_[-[ __STOP TRACK_ _]-]_

And as the two traversed the road to Sanctuary, Winter eventually lost sight of them in between the trees, and walked on trembling talons to the lodge. The walk lasted no more than a few minutes until he entered his abode once more, the atmosphere of the lodge sinking him back into reality. Jun sat by the fireplace, still scribbling away as he glanced up to see a disheartened and broken Winter.

Winter flopped down on one of the cushions farthest from the fireplace, twiddling the pendant between his talons still. Jun hopped on over, fascinated and worried by Winter's behavior.

"...I couldn't do it, Jun…" The Icewing rested his head on the floor, the crescent moon reflected in his glacial eyes. "I let them go…"

Jun sat cross legged beside Winter's head, rubbing his snout tenderly. As Winter fiddled with the pendant, he noticed a crease on the edge, and with little difficulty he picked it open. The pendant opened into a locket, with words engraved inside as well.

_Like the Moons above  
I am always with you._

The Icewing read over those two lines over and over, each time growing more teary eyed, until he couldn't make out the words any longer. He simply closed the locket, and held it in his paws as he buried his snout in the cushion, giving way to his sobs. Jun rubbed his neck and provided what little physical comfort he could.

To his surprise though, Winter stopped himself with a few deep breaths and a hearty _BANG_ of his tail to the floor.

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, WINTER!"

The Icewing shook himself off and wiped his nose after a few sniffles, refusing to give in to his unstable emotional state.

"Don't let yourself get dragged back there, not after all this time…"

He glanced down to the pendant once more, tearing his eyes away from it, only to look at the fireplace. An idea formed in his head, one that caused him to think intensely for a few moments before closing his eyes and sticking the pendant back into the fabric pouch. He couldn't bring himself to toss it away so soon after Moon had gifted it to him, but the pain the memories brought back forced him to keep it tucked away for now.

He sat up once more, sighing to himself. "What am I gonna do, Jun?"

Jun, ever the attentive friend, waved to his Icewing friend to get his attention. Winter's gaze fell down to his scavenger companion.

"Hm?"

Jun simply placed a hand over his heart and kept it there, allowing Winter to discern his meaning. Winter tilted his head in response.

"My heart… you think I should… listen to my feelings?"

A simple head nod from Jun confirmed Winter's theory, forcing him to reevaluate his stance. For years now, Winter did everything in his power to force those feelings and painful memories down; he believed that they were all but gone, and Moon's return proved just the opposite. What he had worked for so long to do, she had undone in but moments. Jun's mention of listening to his emotions forced Winter to think the opposite way: Instead of denying his past and ignoring it, perhaps he should have been accepting his pain and coming to terms with who he was and how he felt. The idea certainly was not an easy one to contemplate, in fact Winter would rather have burned the pendant Moon gave him than dig up everything he kept down. But he could not deny that Jun had a point, if not having given him the idea that Winter agreed with.

Winter simply sighed a deep and deflating breath, admitting to his own messed up mentality in some way.

"Yeah… I think you're right, Jun."

Jun nodded, but this time he pointed to the fireplace rather urgently, to which Winter seemed taken aback some.

"Wait, you're saying I _should_ melt the necklace? I can't do _that_, Moon gave it to me specifically so-"

Jun interrupted Winter by waving his arms to signal no, and pointed towards the fireplace again, this time slightly to the left. Winter tilted his head again, not getting what his muted friend meant.

"It's not that? Then what…"

Winter followed Jun's arm and where it pointed. Jun was pointing at the fireplace, yes, but between the fireplace and Jun lay a black pyramid object, something definitely not usually there. Winter immediately felt everything else fall by the wayside as he realized what Jun was pointing at.

"..._They forgot to take the message from the Starwings_…"

Jun nodded in an over exaggerated so Winter would notice, then promptly pointed to the door.

"You're right, I gotta get it back to them-"

Jun again waved no, but pointed to the door. Winter faltered again.

"You… you think I should… take it to Snowfall?"

Winter regarded Jun as a dear friend, and as an equal who despite having no voice, spoke through his actions and gestures. When Jun tried to get something across, Winter usually knew exactly what he meant, and usually what Jun had to say proved to be helpful and wise. Jun's statement about Winter listening to his emotions, and going not to give the message back but directly to Snowfall herself, forced Winter to think long and hard about all this.

The more he thought about it, the longer a list he could come up with of reasons he _shouldn't_ go. He dreaded leaving Harmony to his four trustees, not trusting them to get things done and expected them to squabble amongst themselves like dragonets over the last piece of food. He knew for all but a fact that Snowfall would either have him imprisoned on sight, or outright banished with how their relationship stood, and his mother and father (if they were even still alive) would prove no help at all. Every part of returning to the Icewing Kingdom pricked pins and needles in his sensibilities, and Winter strongly listened to his sensibilities about these matters.

But on the other hand, the prospect of actual space dragons coming to reside on Pyrrhia was a monumental enough issue to make Winter question whether he was right or not. Moon and Qibli convinced him of the importance of this event, and he had to admit he was the most likely candidate for the job of convincing his cousin. However the biggest reason Winter kept coming back to, were two little words that Moon tossed out that could've stopped his heart had she spoken them again.

"..._For me?_"

Winter found himself clutching the fabric pouch again, tighter and tighter as his brain nearly split in two over the decision. Finally though…

"...rrrgh, for snOWS _SAKE,__** FINE**_."

Jun jumped up on Winter's neck, and the Icewing burst through the lodge door with a determined anger evident in his eyes. He knew full well that he may come out the other side of this a different dragon altogether… but his reason stood out clear as day to him.

'_**For Moon.**_'

**-X-  
**

_[Author's Note (_again):_ The next chapter will be the last in this story arc! THAT'S RIGHT, ARC 1 IS NEARING COMPLETION! Don't worry though, you're sure to see more after that.~]_


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